Discrimination of hosts

Jacob231
Level 9
Copenhagen, Denmark

Discrimination of hosts

Dear Forum and Airbnb,

 

in the debate about lack of profile picture, I would also like to express as a host (and traveler) my strong unsatisfaction and disagreement with the socalled new policy of Airbnb, which in fact is a step back for the community. Unless of course, Airbnb, is now aiming to become a new Booking.com with anonymous strictly commercial transactions, which I hope and doubt is the case. A community without a face is not a community!

 

Is there any public statistical documentation and thorough analysis of discriminatory cases against guests, and, for that matter against hosts? That would be essential for the discussion, and would probably show that the issue in the debate is mostly going one way, in favor of those (few?) guests who have felt that a decline of a request was based on discrimination. How to prove that anyway?

 

However, hosts are being discriminated against by weighing concern for the guest higher. Taking away one of the main features of an user account - the profile picture - is giving the host fewer tools in managing her/his listing. This is not fair.

The profile picture is part of the user's general profile and way to communicate with the world. Just as the other features like Other Verifications, CV, Reviews, Etc. are part of the profile. It has nothing to do with criterias of  'judgement' per se, but are basic - and essential - features to make a complex system like Airbnb work smoothly. The idea of  introducing extra functionality buttons and request methods to ask for someone's profile picture, is making simple things complicated - and unnecessary.

It also creates a negative vibe in that, instead of welcoming a guest, hosts now need to ask for formalities that in fact should have been taken care of by the facilitator Airbnb, and should have been transparent from the beginning. The 'new' policy will also potentially create invalid and fake discrimination cases due to potential declining of a request after a booking has been confirmed. There can be X reasons of why a host needs to decline or cancel a request. We are not a hotel with staff, bodyguard, and a big insurance company at hand.

 

Airbnb enhances an open free world by connecting people from all continents, based on sharing economy, not on discrimination. So why discriminate hosts?


Best regards,

Jacob [Surname hidden] 

88 Replies 88

So if you think a name can inform you about a persons ethnicity or race, then I think you need more exposure.. The fact you think this is true is even amazing and not wonder these policies are in place. 

estoy de acuerdo que se deberia saber un poco mas ya que yo tuve una mal experiencia con un grupo de personas que se hospedaron en  mi casa en la playa e hicieron un destroso y eso que indicaban que tenian 32  años y a hora que estoy pidiendo el revolso airbnb me pide facturas si todavia no cambiado la puerta que rompieron  y varias cosas mas   y a pesar que le enviado foto indicando como dejaron la casa, nosotros tenemos que  estar mas protegidos con la personas que se hospedan en nuestra propiedad porque no sabemos nada y nuestra propiedad esta amoblada como en mi caso quien queda perjudicada soy yo por los siguientes huespedes ya me da un poco de desconfianza alquilarla 

Estimada Paola:

Yo alojé a una persona cuya nacionalidad no me produjo el menor rechazo. He tenido huéspedes de todas las nacionalidades, condiciones y credos y con todos he sido lo más amable que soy capaz de ser.

Esta persona a la que me refiero destruyó mi ropa en una exhibición inaudita de premeditación y alevosía.

Se había sentido ofendida porque le pedí amablemente que respetara las reglas de la casa.

Envié las fotos de mi ropa desgarrada -seis piezas de las más costosas que encontró, las desgarró y las volvió a colocar cuidadosamente en el armario- a la Ayuda de Airbnb explicando lo ocurrido. Han pasado más de 20 días y ni siquiera me han contestado.

Creo que lo mejor escontratar un seguro privado.

Translation for Irma in Madrid!: Dear Paola:
I lodged a person whose nationality did not cause me the slightest refusal. I have had guests of all nationalities, conditions and creeds and with all I have been as kind as I am capable of being.
This person I am referring to destroyed my clothes in an unprecedented display of premeditation and treachery.
She had been offended because I kindly asked her to respect the rules of the house.
I sent the photos of my torn clothes-six pieces of the most expensive ones I found, tore them and put them back carefully in the closet-to Airbnb Help explaining what happened. It's been more than 20 days and they have not even answered me.
I think it's best to keep private insurance.

Que desastre !! Pero sirvnb tiene un seguro de $100.000 pir alquiler para eso 

elllos dicen que don responsables

Irma1
Level 5
Madrid, Spain

Dear Jacob, and Dafne, Linda and Richard, Partricia, Adriana and Sarah:

I can't but absolutely share your astonishment.

I have to add that it is not only a question of Photo, but of the impossibility to see the guest -to-be page.

So, from now on, if you decide to go on renting your home through Airbnb, you have to admit the added risk (some risk existed anyhow before the change of politics) of those "blind dates".

I hope that Airbnb will reconsider this unfortunate decition. I was so satisfied to be a part of this comunity...now I can equally rent by Booking.com.

I have to tell you that I am a lady that lives alone y a house from which I rented a room.  I can't admit unknown guests in my home. And It is not a question of discrimination but of elementary safety.

Thanks to all for your opinions

 

I agree 100%. I am a single woman renting a room in my home.  I want to see who I run into in the kitchen in the middle of the night!!

 

Cathy157
Level 3
Port Elizabeth, ZA

I cannot understand why prospective guests need to be shrouded in secrecy - it unnerves me a little when I don't know whether the person staying in my place is the person who booked.  I have had one group who arrived to stay and not one of them had the name of the person who had booked.  The thing I liked about Airbnb is that I knew exactly who was coming to stay in my home, but now you get a name with no photo and no details.  It feels very anonymous and slightly disrespectful.  

And extremely dangerous.

I agree. I am a single lady host and I don’t even like it when a person is wearing sunglasses in their profile pic. I like to see exactly who I am hosting. I really hope they reverse this latest change. It is not fair that guests see everything about us and we are left guessing about them. It’s a matter of safety. Very disappointing 😞

 I totally agree with the concerns in this conversation and not happy with the lack of details from perspective guest. 

@Mona0 Totally agree with you.  Airbnb didn't realized that guests actually choose host too based on their pictures.  Should we hide our pictures also?  

@Karen0, I dont know if @Mona0 replied to you but let me tell you what would deteer me from accepting if I had the pic: a picture with a partial face or partial profile or a pic of flowers or pets. I want a pic with the full face, passport like in order to know who is coming. if they fail to have that it means -a) they don;t know or b) they have something to hide.

 

I think we should all submit requests to the ABB developers to reverse this feature and let the pic stay.

Paul347
Level 4
London, United Kingdom

So Mona, exactly what in a guest pic would deter you from accepting the booking?

 

I think the provenance of this policy is Airbnb's real or feared race discrimination issues in the U.S. which translates into fear of legal liability which is the driver of many corporate policies here.  That's life and it's not going to change anytime soon.  On the other hand, a "nice" photo accompanied by a "nice" narrative or email doesn't guaranty that your guest will not be Ted Bundy and I am just paranoid enough not rent a room in the same dwelling where I live - above the garage is plenty close enough where the worst case scenario would likely be a trashing of the place which, incidentally, has never happened.  Knock, Knock.  Over the years, I have never turned anyone away who meets the minimum age and maximum guest/house rules requirements ( other than those who are purportedly somewhere in an old Soviet Union republic without credit card access and want to pay using "cashiers checks"), but that doesn't mean that I don't know a potentially problematic guest when I see them or read their initial email to me and, believe me, it has nothing to do with their race.