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I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

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Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#11

Post by inlineint »

wayn3 wrote: post #9
muninn_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No they don't, they can just say this person disproportionally rejects people of whatever race or prejudice. No need to state the host's race.

Not the hosts race, the potential renters race. In order for Airbnb to say someone of race {race} got rejected, they have to know, or guess, their race. Whether they ask for that on the application or look at the pictures, its probably illegal.

They could add button "Report discrimination" for rejected potential renters and then ask them what type of discrimination they want to report. Then they wouldn't need to guess anyone's race.

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#12

Post by nailer »

retrac98 wrote: post #3

It seems unrealistic to expect AirBnB to "fix" this issue. This is a cultural problem, not a technical one, and it's outside their sphere of control. Sure, they could shut down a few blatantly racist hosts... but that'll never stamp out the underlying sentiment and they'll never get them all. I think a more realistic expectation on them would be for them to actively promote equality and do their bit to contribute tow…

> For example, while on-boarding hosts, show a short video encouraging a bit of open-mindedness.

Not a video, but AirBnB (maybe about two months ago) made EVERY host agree to not discriminate or their listings would be turned off.

I still think AirBnB is an awful company (hallway outside my apartment is currently trashed by an airbnb guest, the host doesn't care, airbnb won't get involved), but they are definitely aware of and addressing this.

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#13

Post by muninn_ »

inlineint wrote: post #11
wayn3 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the hosts race, the potential renters race. In order for Airbnb to say someone of race {race} got rejected, they have to know, or guess, their race. Whether they ask for that on the application or look at the pictures, its probably illegal.

They could add button "Report discrimination" for rejected potential renters and then ask them what type of discrimination they want to report. Then they wouldn't need to guess anyone's race.

Exactly. There is no serious reason why they can't do this.

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#16

Post by devopsproject »

CarolineW wrote: post #2

Quoting: For folks that are going to say, "well people have the right to refuse rentals in their homes". True. To an extent. There are Fair Housing laws that may apply under certain circumstances ... I thought the whole point of AirBnB was to be disruptive, and ignore regulations, and not have to obey the laws that hotels have to obey and thereby, well, something. Things like this will happen. And yes, he can tell hi…

disruptive doesn't have to mean ignoring regulations

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#17

Post by vinay427 »

txmx2000 wrote: post #15

Somehow AirBnB is responsible for stopping racism. Not the police. Not the court system. Not congress. Not the host who cancelled the booking. AirBnB needs to balance the scales of justice. It's a completely rational idea.

Of course they're not obligated to stop racism. If they don't do anything to address this issue, however, I and potentially many others will hesitate to book using Airbnb to vote with our [currency]. This is capitalism working without necessarily requiring government interference.

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#18

Post by vivekd »

retrac98 wrote: post #3

It seems unrealistic to expect AirBnB to "fix" this issue. This is a cultural problem, not a technical one, and it's outside their sphere of control. Sure, they could shut down a few blatantly racist hosts... but that'll never stamp out the underlying sentiment and they'll never get them all. I think a more realistic expectation on them would be for them to actively promote equality and do their bit to contribute tow…

While perhaps not altogether effective, I think shutting down blatantly racist hosts would be a very good place to start in promoting that cultural shift.

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#19

Post by joshuas »

retrac98 wrote: post #3

It seems unrealistic to expect AirBnB to "fix" this issue. This is a cultural problem, not a technical one, and it's outside their sphere of control. Sure, they could shut down a few blatantly racist hosts... but that'll never stamp out the underlying sentiment and they'll never get them all. I think a more realistic expectation on them would be for them to actively promote equality and do their bit to contribute tow…

I don't know about fixing it outright, but they could somehow derank hosts in search results if they have weird rejection patterns. Sex/Age/Race/Whatever

Re: I’m a black man. Here’s what happened when I booked an Airbnb

#20

Post by tinus_hn »

robbies wrote: post #7

I don't think this is too surprising for any person of color. For myself, I've learned that I have to plan 'extra ahead' in order to make sure I have time to correspond with multiple hosts, in order to work around the calendar being wrong or other 'reasons'. I've been cancelled too many times with Instant Book for 'reasons'.

Incidentally that was why the 'green book' was started. It's a sad thing indeed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book

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