Just today, we received an email in our inbox from Airbnb, stating their commitment to the community and equality for all clients using Airbnb. An image capture of the newsletter is below.
Airbnb has been dealing with reports of discrimination against clients of color who try to book or stay at a residence booked through Airbnb. Guests have had guns drawn on them when trying to enter their rental, or found they couldn’t book a rental despite numerous efforts, but when asking a white male to book the same space and date, discovered their booking was accepted immediately. This reality motivated Rohan Gilkes to co-found Innclusive.com designed to offer an open platform that welcomes people of color looking for vacation rentals. During the recent TechInclusion 2016 conference in San Francisco, Gilkes said he reached out to Airbnb to address the issue and pitch his idea about changing the platform which fell flat.
More information on Airbnb’s policy regarding is available here.
Too little too late? Is this going to get traction and strengthen the community?
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