Airbnb users are again alleging widespread racism on the home-sharing platform after a North Carolina host was removed from the site following a racist rant against a black user.
READ MORE: Black Airbnb users speak out about ‘widespread discrimination’ on service
Last week, Shani Taylor tweeted a screenshot showing her friend’s alleged interaction with an unnamed Airbnb host. According to Taylor’s tweet, her friend tried to book a room with the host who later cancelled her booking stating, “I hate n*****s.”
“This is the south darling,” the message continued. “Find another place to rest your n**** head.”
Just one day after Taylor shared the hateful messages, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted a statement confirming the host in question had been banned from the site.
“The incident in NC was disturbing and unacceptable. Racism and discrimination have no place on Airbnb. We have permanently banned this host,” he said.
Unfortunately, Taylor’s story is the latest example of what has come to be known as “Airbnb’s racism problem.”
A recent Harvard study, titled “Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy,” conducted an experiment to see if Airbnb hosts discriminated based on names alone.
Researchers sent over 6,000 requests to real Airbnb properties in five major American cities using accounts with the exact same guest information, except for names. Ten of the accounts used “distinctively African-American names” and the other 10 “distinctively white names.”
READ MORE: Airbnb’s 10 most desired destinations and accommodations
The report found requests from guests with African-American names were 16 per cent less likely to be accepted than guests with white names.
Last month, the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack began trending on Twitter as hundreds of black users alleged they had been turned down for multiple booking requests on the site because of the colour of their skin. While only some of the examples included the use of racial slurs, many users alleged their white friends had an easier time booking properties through the service.
In an interview with Global News, a Toronto-area Airbnb user said she had been subject to the same type of racial discrimination while trying to book accommodation in the U.S. and even at home in Toronto. The user – who asked not to be named for privacy reasons – said she had three negative experiences using the app.
“I gave up on Airbnb after the rejected requests. I haven’t used the app since. To be flat out rejected and offered pitiful excuses is simply unacceptable,” the user said.
Airbnb does have a strict anti-discrimination policy that states “fair housing laws often prohibit discrimination in the selling or renting of such housing based on race, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability.”
The service also bans content that promotes discrimination of any kind.
Following the incident in North Carolina, The Washington Post reported the company plans to spend the next several months reviewing how hosts and guests interact on the site to see how it can reduce discrimination and harassment. According to the report, the company plans to release its findings in September.
Global News contacted Airbnb Monday asking the company to elaborate on what the review will involve and whether the company has any plans to introduce new measures to protect users from this type of discrimination; however, a request for comment was not immediately returned.
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