Interesting article on safety and female travelers and hosts

[Andrea9]

and on sensitive cultural or religious needs or issues, and how the new Airbnb blanket non-discrimination policy is well meant but is far from fostering  ideal or safe situations in many cases. So true.

https://skift.com/2017/04/06/airbnb-and-the-plight-of-the-female-host-and-traveler/?utm_campaign=Dai...

[David126]

I would have thought all guests would want a safe and secure environment.

This amused me:

This is a strategy employed by other community-specific homesharing platforms like Innclusive and MisterB&B, both of which were launched to address the needs of their respective groups and lessen the chances of discrimination taking place on their sites.

So you lessen the chances of discrimination by having sites whose basic ethos is discrimination?

[Andrea9]

@David126

Not sure if I'm answering your question.

The article is esp. geared to females who are still usually far more prone to become victims to an inappropriate situation.

There's also quite a few threads on the issue of f. ex. single women living alone not wanting to be forced into having to accept everybody, and also not wanting to have to decline too many requests.

Let's leave aside the topic and tips on how to avoid this for the large part. The point I want to make is that esp. with not yet experienced enough hosts it can be terrifying after having a male guest who got too familiar, or female guest staying with a mal ehost who got too familiar. 

Most of my guests for my room are female, and I've had several who told me that among other things they felt 'safe and at ease' because of my concious choice for mainly taking female guests. So I do know that feeling is there.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the idea of going in the other extreme like sites Innclusive and MisterB&B.

I just don't think the heal-all pill is denying hosts the right to refuse somebody under the banner of forced non-discrimination. When Airbnb implemented it I understood it had to be, but knew that I would still be making my choices according to whomever I wanted to host for my reasons.

Some countries' cultural/religious context is so much stricter than in the West that while offering accommodation on the one side, there is an absolute need to be extremely selective to whom they take in their home if they are females. And on a platform such as Airbnb it's difficult to say "Look I love to host and want to host, but I'm bound first and foremost in my choices by my religion and the religious community." Sure, don't host on Airbnb, but then where else....

I like the article because it shows a side that Airbnb didn't (want to) consider with their policy. And I believe such aspects should be looked at despite what others think.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Andrea9

Personally I think the best step forward that AirBnB could take is around vetting and background checks of both hosts and guests. 

It is light touch at the moment and of course would require investment.

In addition, there are many instances where 'bad' guest (and I assume 'bad' hosts) have just closed down their account and opened another one with a different email address.

Finally - enforcing policies like 'you must have a recent pic of you on your profile (guests and hosts) would be so good.

All of these are fairly pedestrian/process-driven/transactional activities, which are much easier to do than to figure out if someone is a lothario or an axe murderer!!

[David126]

Having been through quite a few different background checks, I am somewhat cynical about what they are likely to achieve. In the US you go through a check to buy a gun, obtain a Liquor License, Concealed Carry Permit, voulteer at a School etc etc. If you want to work at the Post Office you go through a check.

Obviously you have to have some sort of record to come up with something and I doubt there are many convicted axe murderers hosting on ABB so not sure what would be achieved. What is available in some countries is nto in others and then you have Rehabilitation of Offenders legislation (not US).

Let us take it to extreme, you are a convicted axe murderer, so you want to host or stay and bypass the checks so the listing is in the name of a friend or SO. 

[Andrea9]

For now looks like an unsolvable conundrum