Airbnb apologizes for racism complaints, outlines changes

But the biggest promise Airbnb is making is this: “if a guest is not able to book a listing because they have been discriminated against, Airbnb will ensure the guest finds a place to stay”. In a 32-page report issued after a 3-month internal review, the company has agreed to a series of measures, including a more stringent non-discrimination policy, plans to diversify the company’s own workforce, and increased implicit bias training for its hosts.

Almost ten months after a Harvard Business School study revealed “widespread discrimination” against guests on the basis of race the short-term rental platform Airbnb, the San Francisco-based company is taking action, saying in a report released Thursday that all users will be required to to agree to a “community commitment” against discrimination based on “race, religion, national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age” as of November 1.

“Once #AirbnbWhileBlack gave a voice to users who experience discrimination on its platform, Airbnb responded with a speed, transparency, and thoughtfulness that’s atypical among large corporations and Silicon Valley companies in particular”, said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

“These changes are only Airbnb’s first steps”, the report reads.

When Airbnb guests complained they could not find rooms on the platform because hosts were discriminating based on race and gender identity, Airbnb removed hosts found culpable of the behavior and promised it would work on a solution to the trend.

Robinson praised activists and users for using their voices to hold Airbnb accountable which he said helped birth the new policy changes.

The US-based holiday rental company, which has about 7,200 hosts in Ireland, unveiled a new policy on Thursday, under which hosts will have to commit to welcoming guests “of all backgrounds, with authentic hospitality and open minds”.

Following claims of racism by hosts on the home-sharing platform, the company is rolling out a stronger, more detailed nondiscrimination policy. “Unfortunately, we have been slow to address these problems, and for this I am sorry”.

But Airbnb will not, for now, concede to critics one of their chief requests – abandoning the user photos that make it easy to identify online who is a minority. But the company has faced criticism for not doing more to crack down on hosts who may have discriminated against guests by denying them a chance to book their property.

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. “So, we’re going to go beyond what the law requires in this area”.

The company will also post a new nondiscrimination policy, which users will need to agree to beginning November 1.

Airbnb has been under fire after studies found that black users were less likely to find vacancies on the site. “We are a community of millions of people”. Imagine what we can do together.

In the report, Murphy called profile photos “essential to Airbnb’s overall mission” to build communities and said technological fixes were the best course of action.