Airbnb fighting discrimation

[Mashara]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I got an email from Airbnb last week about their updated nondiscrimination policy. View the report here: blog.airbnb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/REPORT_Airbnbs-Work-to-Fight-Discrimination-and-Build-Inclusion.pdf

Quoted from the email:

Dear Airbnb community,

At the heart of our mission is the idea that people are fundamentally good and every community is a place where you can belong. We don’t say this because it sounds nice. It’s the goal that everyone at Airbnb works towards every day – because we’ve all seen how when we live together, we better understand each other.


Discrimination is the opposite of belonging, and its existence on our platform jeopardizes this core mission. Bias and discrimination have no place on Airbnb, and we have zero tolerance for them. Unfortunately, we have been slow to address these problems, and for this I am sorry. I take responsibility for any pain or frustration this has caused members of our community. We will not only make this right; we will work to set an example that other companies can follow.


In June, we asked Laura Murphy, the former head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington D.C. Legislative Office, to review every aspect of the Airbnb platform, and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to fight bias and discrimination. Thanks to Laura’s leadership, today we’re releasing a report that outlines the results of that process. You can read the full report here, but I’d like to highlight four changes that will impact the way our platform works:


Airbnb Community Commitment


Beginning November 1, everyone who uses Airbnb must agree to a stronger, more detailed nondiscrimination policy. We aren’t just asking you to check a box associated with a long legal document. We’re asking everyone to agree to something we’re calling the Airbnb Community Commitment, which says:


We believe that no matter who you are, where you are from, or where you travel, you should be able to belong in the Airbnb community. By joining this community, you commit to treat all fellow members of this community, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age, with respect, and without judgment or bias.

[kicks]

Too lazy to read the long report. But it'll be interesting to see what comes out of this.

[Mashara]

Yeah, I didn't read the whole report. Basically, they need to do better.

New members have more problems booking places than other members, but POC have a higher percentage of trouble.

And when POC did complain about discrimination issues, Airbnb employees didn't have a set response procedure, so I'm betting sometimes there was a lack of help on the issue or just late responses.

The reviewer also brought up the profile picture issue. Airbnb encourages (not sure if it's required) a profile pic, so the owner can recognize you when meeting for key exchange. But it can (has?) easily been used to discriminate renting against some members. One way Airbnb aims to get around this is have more owners sign up for the auto-book feature. Their site checks for free dates on the calendar and okays the rental, no need for the owner to okay it.

[sfy]

Sept 16, 2016 11:14:34 GMT -5 Mashara said:

Yeah, I didn't read the whole report. Basically, they need to do better.

New members have more problems booking places than other members, but POC have a higher percentage of trouble.

And when POC did complain about discrimination issues, Airbnb employees didn't have a set response procedure, so I'm betting sometimes there was a lack of help on the issue or just late responses.

The reviewer also brought up the profile picture issue. Airbnb encourages (not sure if it's required) a profile pic, so the owner can recognize you when meeting for key exchange. But it can (has?) easily been used to discriminate renting against some members. One way Airbnb aims to get around this is have more owners sign up for the auto-book feature. Their site checks for free dates on the calendar and okays the rental, no need for the owner to okay it.

I like the idea of the auto book, but the only thing I would add to this is that a homeowner should be able to specify, for example, that these will only book for members with a certain amount of stays or a certain rating. Because I do understand not wanting to agree to rent to someone who has no previous Airbnb history.

When I say I like the idea, I mean for other people, because I would never personally choose to stay in someone's house over a hotel lol. Plus, I would be so pissed if I ever found out I was staying in the home of someone who didn't want to rent to black people.

[Mashara]

Sept 16, 2016 12:21:31 GMT -5 sfy said:

I like the idea of the auto book, but the only thing I would add to this is that a homeowner should be able to specify, for example, that these will only book for members with a certain amount of stays or a certain rating. Because I do understand not wanting to agree to rent to someone who has no previous Airbnb history.

They already have the auto-book feature (oops, it's called "Instant Book"), just plan to increase how many homeowner's use it. And I think they can specify the guest rating requirement.

I've only rented once, and I never received a response to the first place I requested. Was it because I was new with zero reviews or because they saw my profile pic? No idea. Instant Book worked for the second rental I tried. We stayed a week in Cancun for $400.

[sfy]

Sept 16, 2016 13:13:31 GMT -5 Mashara said:

Sept 16, 2016 12:21:31 GMT -5 sfy said:

I like the idea of the auto book, but the only thing I would add to this is that a homeowner should be able to specify, for example, that these will only book for members with a certain amount of stays or a certain rating. Because I do understand not wanting to agree to rent to someone who has no previous Airbnb history.

They already have the auto-book feature (oops, it's called "Instant Book"), just plan to increase how many homeowner's use it. And I think they can specify the guest rating requirement.

I've only rented once, and I never received a response to the first place I requested. Was it because I was new with zero reviews or because they saw my profile pic? No idea. Instant Book worked for the second rental I tried. We stayed a week in Cancun for $400.

Oh, I see. Yeah, both my husband and my sister have been rejected multiple times--my husband while trying to book in Chicago, my sister while trying to book in Sydney--and they both felt the reason was their profile pictures. I don't have an account and haven't tried to book, so I don't know how it works exactly, but I guess the places continued to be available after they were denied.