AirBnB & Canadian politics

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

I got the following letter today and I am deeply offended and doubly concerned. AirBnB is a USA company and they have no business meddling in our Canadian politics in any way, no matter how innocuous it seems.
How and to whom do I lodge a formal complaint?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/W9mChN7rsd3BBsnG8

[Sarah977]

@Michelle-and-Ray0  Contact Airbnb with a screenshot of the letter. I don't think it came from them. I've received fake stuff before written with Airbnb letterhead and posing as having come from them. When I contacted Airbnb, they said it definitely wasn't from them, not to click on any links in the message, and thanked me for reporting it. Tell them it's a Trust and Safety issue when you first contact so they'll pass it to the correct department.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

It definitely came from them. Several other Canadian hosts have been commenting about it.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle-and-Ray0  Where have they been commenting? I can't find anything else here on this forum. And did any of the hosts who are commenting on it actually contact Airbnb to make sure it came from them?  I'm not doubting you, I'm just curious.

I don't see it as particularly offensive, even if it did come from them. What's wrong with encouraging people to vote? (I get what you're saying about them not meddling in politics, but I just don't see this message as something to get offended about) I get alerts from Airbnb quite often about hurricane warnings in Mexico, where I host, and more often than not, those warnings don't actually effect the area where I live. It seems harmless.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

On Canadian AirBnB Facebook groups.
"What's wrong with a corporation or business encouraging people to vote?"
That's a very American attitude.

We don't do business like that in Canada. This is why it's so offensive to me.
I have *NEVER* been reminded to go vote by a business entity.
*EVER*
It's a very slippery slope and incredibly concerning to me.
And hurricane warnings are something completely different. No comparison.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle-and-Ray0  Okay, I don't do Facebook, but I was curious to read what other Canadian hosts are saying about this.

Funny you should assume I have a"very American attitude".

I'm Canadian.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

Unfortunately, it's still an American attitude. Sorry.
It's VERY concerning and I don't understand why you wouldn't be concerned.
This is just the first step of an outside corporation getting their foot in the door, so to speak, to be able to sway public political opinion.
Doesn't matter that they didn't say who to vote for in the email.
They will eventually make it plain who they want in the future, if they are permitted to get away with this now.
That is how the USA does politics and business. That isn't how Canada does it.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle-and-Ray0  I mentioned the hurricane warning because I happen to find them offensive, but at the same time, I consider them harmless.

They're offensive because the tone and content of them insinuates that I would be so stupid and unaware and unconcerned for my own or my guests' safety that I need some Airbnb employee in SF to send me an advisory about the weather and the weather predictions 2000 miles from where Airbnb is located, as if I wouldn't be aware of those things myself. In other words, Airbnb is butting their nose in where it has no business being.

[Paul154]

@Michelle-and-Ray0 

Airbnb is an American for-profit corporation. The best way to lodge a formal complaint is to stop doing business with them. Stops them everytime.

As for meddling in Canadian politics, this blurb merely provides access to voting. It doesn't even tell you how to vote. Not exactly a smoking gun...

[Suzanne302]

@Michelle-and-Ray0  This is far from "meddling in politics." They're reminding you to vote. They may be based in the US, but they do business globally, with hosts (hey, like YOU!) from Canada.

Not sure why you're so fired up and taking such offense to this? As @Paul154  said, if you're that upset, simply remove your listing from Airbnb. Problem solved.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

We don't do business like that in Canada. This is why it's so offensive to me.
I have *NEVER* been reminded to go vote by a business entity.
*EVER*
I'm a big girl don't need reminding to go vote, much less from a non Canadian company. I can do that perfectly on my own, thanks.
It's a very slippery slope and incredibly concerning to me.
This is just the first step of an outside corporation getting their foot in the door, so to speak, to be able to sway public political opinion.
Doesn't matter that they didn't say who to vote for in the email.
They will eventually make it plain who they want in the future, if they are permitted to get away with this now.
That is how the USA does politics and business. That isn't how Canada does it.

[Suzanne302]

@Michelle-and-Ray0  Well, you should definitely remove your listing then. 

[Kath9]

@Michelle-and-Ray0 I don't quite understand why you're so upset. Ok, I think the email is a big weird and I don't really get Airbnb's intentions, but if something like this was doing the rounds here, I'd probably be pleasantly surprised. Isn't encouraging people to vote a good thing? Airbnb haven't endorsed anyone, they're just providing information about where and how to vote. Maybe it's a community service. Also, as @Sarah977said, you should make sure it is legit first. 'Several other Canadian hosts complaining about it' doesn't mean it has definitely come from Airbnb. 

[Anonymous]

I agree with @Michelle-and-Ray0 on at least one thing: it's not not meddling. The fact that the email doesn't endorse any particular candidate or party might put it in the clear for campaign regulations, but still - there's no doubt that Airbnb is seeking to influence the results. Hosts are certainly not politically monolithic, but Airbnb was most likely targeting them as a group in anticipation that they'd vote against legislation that restricts their business. There's a reason those GOTV emails weren't going out to, say, housing activists or hotel owners.

I'm personally neutral on this one ethically - stating the fact that it's voting day is only wrong when you give misleading information. I definitely prefer it over the Astroturf campaigns they've done in the past, which seemed to enlist local hosts to "volunteer" as activists on their behalf.

[Susan17]

Oh they're still very much astroturfing, @Anonymous! In Jersey City, just as one  example, where there's a bitter battle taking place right now between the pro- and anti-Airbnb'ers ahead of a Nov 5 ballot initiative, the driving force behind the "Keep Our Homes" campaign is none other than ex-journo Graeme Zielinski, a former Wisconsin Democratic Party staffer who was removed as the party spokesman after a Twitter outburst in which he compared Republican gov. Scott Walker to serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer! Apparently, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back tough... he had form... 

Another figure who's been pulling a lot of strings in the Jersey City campaign is a guy called Mike McKay, real estate agent/investor and Operations Director for Howard Hotels, (with 17 STR properties in JC), and Airbnb "guru", who runs meetups in NYC on topics such as "How To Scale Your Airbnb business to 70+ units". 

Also, critics have pointed out that the several key members of the Keep Our Homes campaign, including chairperson, Liz DeBold Fusco (also Airbnb's NorthEast Press Secretary), don't even live in Jersey City. Not very grassroots, in the traditional sense of the word! 

I've followed all the JC council meetings online, and from what I could see, hosts aren't exactly turning out in their droves in support of Airbnb. The Jersey City Airbnb FB has negligible engagement from small local hosts, and it appears that only around a dozen turned up for the launch of the Keep Our Homes "Vote No" campaign last month. (There was a similar lack of engagement from regular hosts throughout the entire regulatory process here in Dublin, although there was no $3 million - or even $3! - fund ponied up by Airbnb to fight any campaign in this city, as there has been in JC)

So yeah, they're still astroturfing all the way.