Does Airbnb (hosts not the company) have a discrimination problem?

Stephan13
Level 2
Orion charter Township, MI

Does Airbnb (hosts not the company) have a discrimination problem?

So I was reading a few articles about how a few non whites tried to book on Airbnb, but couldn't because of their color hearing escuses like already booked or family in town. Yet when these guests made fake profiles or used their friends account that is "white" they got accepted right away.

Source: http://www.techinsider.io/does-airbnb-have-a-racism-problem-2016-5 

Souce: http://mashable.com/2016/04/29/airbnb-while-black/#L75MhJW2bkq7

 

While being a guest on vacation, I also had a very long talk with my wonderful host. The host was very friendly and since I was still new to Airbnb (7 guests) I was asking questions. I asked what I should do if the guest is dirty when they cook or goes against my house rules, and the host responded that there is nothing much you can do besides talk to the guest, but of course if it's very bad report to Airbnb and leave a review. The host then mentions that they won't accept guests that are from South California because of past insidents like not following the rules or being dirty. That was just an example of region discrimination though. 

 

Why is practice okay on Airbnb? Why do hosts do it? I understand when a guest has bad reviews or barelly no verifications, but I don't understand why it's still common for discrimination on Airbnb.

12 Replies 12
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Some people discriminate, some don't. In some way as hosts we all make a judgement (unless you use Instant Book) on whether or not you are comfortable with someone staying in your home. Sometimes it can be blatant discrimination (eg a recent post from a host who doesn't want Muslims staying) in other cases we look at a combination of age, photo, the email exchange and decide yes or no. Complicated one....

 

 

@Gerry-And-Rashid0 Yes I totally understand what you are saying, as a host we have to make a judgements about the person who will stay in the house we own, and if the person for examples has a bad review that's perfectly okay to judge them. Or a conversations with the person tells a lot. But it shouldn't ever be based off the name, skin color, or religion of the person. It just ain't cool.

Ed-and-Hugh0
Level 10
Miami, FL

@Stephan13 As you point out, studies show this is an issue. The whole gamut of society is represented on Airbnb including those who discriminate, unfortunately. While statistically signifcant, I don't think it's the majority, at least I hope it's not. Our guests have been very diverse, and we've enjoyed meeting them all. In spite of the diversity of our guests, I think we have a lot more in common than we do differences. Things like race, ethnicity, orientation, etc. are pretty insignificant in the big picture.

Stephan13
Level 2
Orion charter Township, MI

@Ed-and-Hugh0 I totally agree. Only some of Airbnb hosts do discrimiate badly. I just hope this doesn't get so badly where people discriminate so badly that it gives other hosts a bad reputation. Skin color doesn't change anything, think of it as the color of the car you drive, does red verse blue change the way the car acts?

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Society has a discrimination problem.   It would be nothing short of a miracle if the people on AirBnB were different from everyone else in this regard.  (It'd be like expecting Facebook users to be free of discrimination, and then have news articles implying that Facebook is to blame because there are a couple idiots among its users. There is a recent Harvard study that is decidedely weird in the way they pitch their findings.)

 

In fact, AirBnB actively promotes diversity, and not only in statements, but also in the way the site works.  For example, you rank higher in search results if you turn on Instant Book.  (I'm not a big fan of instant book open to everyone because I'd like to make sure the guest has the right expectations and understands the AirBnB concept, but you can also turn it on only for guests who have some completed stays with positive reviews.)  Anyway, Instant Book is a sure-fire way to avoid discrimination. 

 

I do have a thought about going even further.. for example AirBnB user profiles could allow people to enter their ethnic background. (hear me out now. 😉 )  It wouldn't be visible to anyone else, just for internal use.   And then hosts who have shown to welcome guests from diverse backgrounds could get a little extra boost in the search results ranking.  (The algorithm will take some figuring out but it's likely possible)

 

And to state the obvious: for a host to use ethnic background or nationality to decline or favor guest bookings is completely nonsensical. You really can’t tell what a person will be like in terms of being tidy or following house rules based on that. And that’s from personal experience, taking hundreds of bookings from all over the world. In fact I like scrolling through my reviews and seeing people and languages from all over the world.  It's actually a great thing to meet so many different people from different countries, it's the next best thing from travelling the world yourself!

I agree with @Jiw0

I was just saying to my friends how great this hosting through airbnb was, and complaining how I had guests from all continents, except Africa! I just hadn't had any request from there... Hopefully that will change in near future.

Doug35
Level 1
San Clemente, CA

 
Jack-And-Kristy0
Level 2
Des Moines, IA

We recently had 5 white male guests cancel after my business partner who is black showed them the house. The house is in an ethnically diverse older neighborhood. They stayed a couple of hours and told my business partner they didn't feel safe. Now they want a full refund for all three nights. I think that racism is involved. We're new to hosting. Any comments?

If the guest cancels less than 5 days in advance, the first night is non-refundable but 50% of the accommodation fees for remaining nights will be refunded.

 

Your cancellation policy will apply as above.

 

If they do not want to stay for whatever reason they cancel and that is it. They can obviously ask for whatever, no need to get into that discussion, that is what AirBnB deal with.

David

I have had guests cancel after saying things like "There are too many Mexicans around", and I have had a guest tell me he was going to cancel because his wife (who was Asian) said she was scared cause there were no white people around. 

 

I had not thought of it, but it is an interesting point in light of the focus on HOSTS discriminating againsts guests..... what about guests who discriminate against hosts? Hmm?

I read the policy and whilst it refers to the Community all the 'action' seems directed at Hosts.

 

If the intent is also apply to Guests, which logically it should, there is no specific mention of it, or what they intend to do.

David