Yeah, well after having a multi-day house party thrown in my Houston home by a local guy that had the gall to write "God Bless you" several times before the rental, and Airbnb doing nothing about the damages (huge scratches on brand new $5K bedroom suite, a frigging water-logged kitchen ceiling, cabinet doors torn off hinges, etc.) we will no longer rent to any local, of any race. Anyone that rents my house is going to prove they are an out-of-town traveler. At the end of the day, the owner should have the final word on their house.
Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
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Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#12>Airbnb said it would also accelerate the use of instant bookings, which lets renters book places immediately without host approval.
Maybe I'm naive but it seems like that policy would be perceived by hosts as extremely hostile. Homeowners have both a financial and emotional vested interest in their homes so letting strangers book it without a cursory check isn't going to work. Having no checks would work for real estate holders who aren't emotionally attached to their homes but not homeowners who live in the same house they rent.
Even if it's irrational and discriminatory, homeowners want to maintain some semblance of control over who stays at their home. It's the homeowner who has to pay for damages/misbehavior -- whether directly or by home insurance deductibles and higher premiums. (As I understand it, AirBnb's coverage guarantee only kicks in after the homeowner exhausts his personal insurance.)
Does anyone know the bulk of AirBnb's business revenue? Is it homeowners renting out a spare bedroom? Or is it people renting out non-owner occupied beach houses and lofts?
EDIT ADD: Every time an AirBnb thread about racism comes up, many commenters are confused or ignorant about what the law actually says. To copypaste a previous comment:
Those anti-discrimination laws don't apply to hosts' private homes or bedrooms.[1] Paraphrase of law: "All persons shall be entitled ..., and accommodations of any place of public accommodation,..., without discrimination ... other than ... a building which contains not more than five rooms for rent ... which is actually occupied by the proprietor ... as his residence"
In other words, if a homeowner has a spare bedroom across the hall from her 13-year-old son's room, and doesn't want to rent to transgender, black, or 65-year-old guests, it is legal for her to discriminate on those attributes.
On the other hand, if the AirBnb host is renting out a non-owner-occupied beach house, the discrimination laws would apply.
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#13Doesn't discrimination end up hurting the hosts in the end? Having less demand drives the rental costs down.
Not necessarily. Certain customers are problematic and can case damage, which is especially possible when you let them occupy your property (the host is the one who ends up paying for repairs, good luck getting it out of the customer). Usually, in a hotel this problem is fixed by requiring credit card with a high security deposit it check in, such as needing a few hundred dollars for incidentals plus room and tax. Th…
> In effect, this doesn't guarantee the hotel payment for any damages, but it keeps out the type of guest that typically cause problems.
So, people with credit cards and a $500+ limit are less likely to cause problems? As someone who dabbled in landlording (never again!) I can tell you that people with money are just as capable of trashing your house as people without money.
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#14I don't know if this is really a tractable problem. At the end of the day, either airbnb lets hosts decide who stays or doesn't. If they don't let hosts decide, they'll likely lose a ton of hosts, since having someone stay in your home is a very personal thing and a huge risk. If they do, then they're going to have significant discrimination problems as long as people are discriminatory, i.e., basically forever.
I think more or less this is where it is going to have to end up.
Its probably bad PR for AirBnB but fundamentally, there is a reason that their is a 'high' barrier to entry for the hospitality business...
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#15Coming up next: AirBnB adopts rules in effort to fight discrimination OF its hosts.
Some guests may avoid to stay with hosts of certain life styles, gender, race or religion. This discrimination must be stopped.
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#16Airbnb's report can be found here: http://blog.airbnb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/REPORT_Air...
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#17Doesn't discrimination end up hurting the hosts in the end? Having less demand drives the rental costs down.
Probably not sharply enough or clearly enough to impact behavior. The thought patterns around this sort of thing can be pretty insidious, too. Some might be thinking stuff along the lines of "I'd be doing better if all these black people weren't tying up my reservations calendar".
I don't think it's a racial thing, I think it's more about preventing damage to your property by going with the ones who are least likely to damage. For example, the types of foods and spices a certain culture cooks with can cause a dwelling to smell for days (just like smoking), and so will cause a problem with future tenants. Certain cultures are known for having lots of kids and not raising them to be quiet or disciplined, that can cause problems for neighbors. And then of course, certain cultures just have less respect for others and their belongings, and due to the environment they're from, have a sense of "take whatever you can get because you might not get a chance later".
Then you have the ideal guest, business guests who you wouldn't even know they're staying or no, don't waste your time haggling about price, are much cleaner than others and yield much more profit.
It's just not the same as selling widgets and discriminating against someone for no reason.
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#18Doesn't discrimination end up hurting the hosts in the end? Having less demand drives the rental costs down.
Slavery hurts the economy by replacing jobs with free labor. That didn't stop the south from waging war to keep it though.
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#19Yeah, well after having a multi-day house party thrown in my Houston home by a local guy that had the gall to write "God Bless you" several times before the rental, and Airbnb doing nothing about the damages (huge scratches on brand new $5K bedroom suite, a frigging water-logged kitchen ceiling, cabinet doors torn off hinges, etc.) we will no longer rent to any local, of any race. Anyone that rents my house is going…
That's not really relevant here. The article is specifically about racial discrimination.
Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts
#20Coming up next: AirBnB adopts rules in effort to fight discrimination OF its hosts. Some guests may avoid to stay with hosts of certain life styles, gender, race or religion. This discrimination must be stopped.
i feel like airbnb can't win either way