Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts • Hacker News Board

Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts

#401

Post by st3v3r » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 6:57 PM UTC

Canada wrote: post #187

chimeracoder wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it's unreasonable to say that all home-sharers must act like hotels. First, Airbnb hosts are not "sharing" their homes. They're renting them out for financial profits. Second, the name is literally Air bnb , as in "Bed and Breakfast". Most B&Bs don't get anything close to that amount of information, and it's illegal for them to discriminate on the basis of protected classes, just like hotels.

> First, Airbnb hosts are not "sharing" their homes. They're renting them out for financial profits. Respectfully, I disagree. If you allow someone to stay in the home you live in while you're away, to sleep in your bed, to cook in your kitchen, drink from your cups, and so on, you are most definitely sharing your home. It doesn't matter if you profit or not for that to be true. I know a lot of Airbnb hosts aren't do…

I disagree with your disagreement, and I don't see why that should have anything to do with not having to follow the law.

Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts

#402

Post by tedmiston » Tue, Sep 13, 2016, 2:58 PM UTC

tedmiston wrote: post #93

I've always considered it a legitimate request when people want to live with others of the same gender for a shared room in their home. For example, you especially see this on sites like Craigslist when people are seeking roommates. This policy seems to overturn the ability of hosts to do this. If I were a female in an all female home renting out one room, it would make me uncomfortable. Perhaps other do not see this…

Update: My assumption is incorrect. Airbnb has added a policy specifically to permit this use case -- see "Gender" section.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnb-s-nondiscrim...

Re: Airbnb Adopts Rules in Effort to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts

#403

Post by Sunstar » Thu, Sep 15, 2016, 2:06 PM UTC

I have happily rented to people of many races, religions, and nationalities, mixed race and same-sex couples, and so forth. However, I do not want anybody telling me who I must have in my home. My nephew did four tours in Iraq and does not care to have Iraqis in his home, I have fire-code-acceptable windows in my apartment but a physically-handicapped person could not reach them. I rent to Orthodox Jews under a privacy plan but I don't want to be told I must make sweeping accommodations due to a guest's religious observances. I won't rent to teens at all so what if they happen to be Muslim? I don't rent to anyone who can't pass a background check so what if they happen to be Hispanic? My husband and I are in our 70s and carefully vet everyone we invite into our home, and no one is going to ever tell me I can't.