Discrimination of hosts

[Jacob231]

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] 

[Kimberly71]

The profile allowed me to help a guest who was having trouble hailing a taxi. If I hadn’t recognized her from her picture I would have walked right passed her, instead I introduced myself and we got the opportunity to give our a guests a lift to the house. Simple human connections are the reason I want to be a part of Airbnb.  That is your unique selling proposition. 

[Tawny3]

Agree with all above! I recently had a booking from a new profile that I accepted (that I should not have..) and after I accepted and was only then able to see the profile pic I told my husband "he looks like a burglar." Seriously. From the beanie to the mug shot type photo. It was a same day reservation and I did a quick search on him and guess what? He's been arrested for burglary! It ended up being ok... but the guy was dealing drugs while staying here and I just couldn't wait until check out time! I know obviously you can cancel a reservation even after a guest has checked in, but that doesn't mean it won't come without consequences. And I would rather suck it up until they're gone than have to worry about a potential threat coming back at us.

[Viktoria56]

I had a young couple, both 19 year olds, stay. The profile pic was very "flaite" as they say here in Chile. Looked kinda gangy etc.... I told my husband that I didn't want to have them stay. We talked about it and then I realized that I was being discriminatory. They were as new to AirBnB as we were. I think we were their 1st and they were our 3rd or something. They ended up being the sweetest normal kids, much nicer than even a lot of our other guests. After that I have never even thought to discriminate. If you are ever uncomfortable AirBnB will help you but don't be fooled by a picture.

[Tueykay0]

@Jacob231

I absolutely agree. I'm a single female sharing the spare room in my home. I'm located in Los Angeles, California.  I'm a long-term hoster and I just got a request from a male in another a country. I totally don't feel safe to accept his request since I don't even know what he looks like.

Any suggestions?

[Irma1]

My suggestion is: go on writing on this matter. Maybe Airbnb will find out that it is not fair, that it is extremely dangerous for persons that rent in their own houses and, especially, that it migh endanger their own buisness. Maybe they dont want to become a bad copy of Booking.com

[Viktoria56]

You can't ask him to send a picture?

[Alon1]

@Jacob231

 The subject you raised has been discussed quite a few times since the new Guest profile photo policy was introduced. Some of those contribuing on this post have been on previous posts.

So just to answer one of your queries, re. Stats.

Yes, 2 weeks ago Robin from Australia included Stats from 2016 in his post titled

Letter to Airbnb  

https://ipropertymanagement.com/airbnb-statistics/ 

You'll see of 80 million bookings: 3 % - 7% were problematic.

Of this 3 - 7%   - 1.1% of issues are caused by discrimination.

it's evidently a tiny fraction of all the problems encountered. 

Make it of it what you will....

.

[Jacob231]

Hi Alon, thanks for your filling in the missing. I expected the problem to be tiny, as Airbnb is a community of free spirited people. As discrimination can therefore not be the main reason for Airbnb's 'new' policy, the more problematic that they introduced such rules undermining the hosts' management tools and safety. I suggest every host NOT to tick off the check box under option Guest Requirement / see guest profile picture. This feature is a pseudo feature from Airbnb's side. Does it mean that if you don't tick it off, you won't be able to see the guest's profile picture at all, even after booking is confirmed?? The option beneath that is Show Guest profile picture, BUT only works with Instant Booking! This I would call black mailing us hosts to turn on the feature so Airbnb can earn more quicker (?).

Airbnb: give us (back) the option to see Guest Profile Picture (the world is full of pictures, on FB, Cell Phones, etc)

Hosts: do not tick turn on the pseudo feature mentioned above.

[Viktoria56]

I also always look up all of my guests on FB to double make sure that it is really them! Can't always but many times I can.

[Cormac0]

@Jacob231

My campaign to Stop Hosting Incognito Travellers got little or no support on these blogs and here we go again...

[Viktoria56]

I refuse to accept guests without profile picture. We live in a busy summer beach town and for our own safety we must match a face to the person who shows up at our door. It's too bad that people are racist and discriminatory, all learned behaviours by the way. REALLY SUX! I hate bigotry.... spent my whole life even as a kid in small town Missouri in the 60's fighting bigotry. Too bad there wasn't another way to weed out the biggots, why must we be run by negativity, hatred, racism, etc.... doesn't that just give it more power? We as hosts are already vulnerable in many cases. In my case it is my private home, where I live 24/7... it is a very desirable location.. people will do whatever to be here... My town also has a lot of crime... from inside and from outside, from upper echelons to the simple crack heads and pasta base addicts just looking for a quick buck to get a fix.... IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR OUR SAFETY TO HAVE PROFILE PICS OF PEOPLE, not hummingbirds and boats. I have never turned down a guest for their profile pic, only for the lack of one or refusal after a request to send one. Just my 3cents worth.

[Viktoria56]

There are other equally ANTI-HOST policies that AirBnB has. DOn't get me wrong... I love AirBnB and I love 95% of the people that have shown up to my door and have mostly had a blast and an only professional experience with AirBnB. I am currently working on sending a feedback to them regarding thei star system. I find it in some cases very ANTI-HOST.

[Viktoria56]

Wow, reading this I think the regulations in Chile must be different? I would go crazy in the States if I didn't have the option to see the Guest Profile Pic. That sounds really terrible! 😞

[Fred13]

When one stops to consider the royal quagmire that is the subject of 'racism' or 'discrimination' specially in the US,  I doubt  it has a definite solution or ending, for it is used and mis-used so often and oftentimes so cunningly it is a discussion that ends up at a dead end, every time.

Why Airbnb embarked into the no-photo arena is an interesting question - is it an internal decision or one 'forced' on them by a myriad of outside social 'forces'.

So, I suggest one argument to make to you all against this policy - a photo is part of true identification, as it is in a passport, driver's license and just about any other type of serious ID.  It is the best way to know, nearly for sure, that whomever applied to stay in your place is who actually shows up at your door! (aka safety, yours).

[Giovanna238]

Thank you so much Jacob for sharing. I just had a guest with no photo and no reviews for 6 days that booked with me on the same day she was comming in, but her credentials said she was coming from the UK, and I am in the San Francisco bay area. There would be no way this woman could of got to my place on any plane in 1 hour, so what this told me was she created a dummy profile. Saying all that to say I am still fighting with AirBNB for my security deposit and more since 1/30/2019 when guest left. This guest had 3 adults and 3 kids and when I got back from my vacation in Cabo San Lucas my house was destroyed. These people broke my new washer, garbage disposal, brand new patio lamp glass, used every single linen in my home including all Cal King comfoters that all had blood, urine and throw up(sorry but true) They threw a cal king comforter and 7 large towels in my smallish stackable washer/dryer and broke the pump. The worst part is I had to pull all wet linen out that had the worst smells. This women even slept on my mattress protectors because she used up 4 different sheet sets and had blood urine and God knows what on it. 

AirBNB's new policy for host guaranttee (trust and security) is you can not talk to a human. I sent over 20 photos and receipts of repair and still nothing. I feel if a host ask for a security deposit we should be able to tap into it especially if the guest never responds to your request for money for damages. These horrific people didn't even have the decentcy to appologize. I am just discusted with this policy. The wordt part for me is I just spent 50,000 to gut and remodel my condo.