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Black travelers share their experiences with Airbnb — and highlight discrimination

NPR asked travelers to share on Twitter what it's like to #AirbnbWhileBlack.

Jessica Plautz

on April 29, 2016

Black travelers share their experiences with Airbnb — and highlight discrimination

A woman browses the site of US home sharing giant Airbnb on a tablet in Berlin on April 28, 2016. Credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

Airbnb prides itself on offering more than accommodation. The short-term rental platform refers to the hosts and guests that rent out and stay in homes around the world as a "community." But a community is rarely without problems.

On Friday, NPR hosted a Twitter chat with the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack. Airbnb's service — which includes the photos and names of travelers looking for accommodation — has been in the spotlight because of alleged discrimination by hosts against non-white guests.

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The conversation builds on a Harvard Business School study in 2014, which found that "African-American sounding names were roughly 16% less likely to be accepted than their white-sounding counterparts."

Airbnb lists its anti-discrimination policy on its website, stating the company prohibits "content that promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group, and we require all users to comply with local laws and regulations."

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But while the service can enforce rules against what listings say, enforcing non-discrimination is more complicated: A host could have nothing discriminatory in their listing but refuse booking requests from travelers they either consciously or subconsciously have a bias against.

"We are committed to making Airbnb one of the most open, trusted, diverse, and transparent communities in the world. We recognize that bias and discrimination present significant challenges, and we are taking steps to address them," Airbnb's Head of Diversity and Belonging David King spokesperson told Mashable in an email. "We welcome the opportunity to work with anyone that can help us reduce potential discrimination in the Airbnb community."

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Some people, however, said they had not experienced discrimination on the platform.

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Several people said that Airbnb's Instant Book feature had been useful, as it removes the interaction in which a host could pass on a guest because of their photo or name.

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Other travelers said that, when traveling in a group, they sought to avoid discrimination by having the most white-looking person with the most white-sounding name make the booking request, in a nod to the Harvard Business School study.