The popular home sharing platform Airbnb permanently banned a host from its site, after the host used racial slurs when contacting a black woman that requested to rent a room in his home.
In a photo of the conversation posted on Twitter, the following was written:
I hate n***ers so I’m going to cancel you. This is the South darling. Find another place to rest your n***er head.
According to Time, who ran the story, this is part of a widespread discrimination issue on the site. There is a popular social media hashtag#AirbnbWhileBlack people have used to share similar experiences. And, Rohan Gilkes posted an article on Medium today about his experience of using Airbnb while black. It’s worth the read.
In a quote provided to the USA Today, Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas said:
We were horrified when we read these messages. The language and conduct are unacceptable and violate both our policies and everything we believe in. This host has been removed from Airbnb and we’ve reached out to the guest to offer our full and complete support, including ensuring the guest has a safe place to stay.
This is a public relations nightmare for the company. In today’s open source, sharing economy it was only a matter of time before something like this came to light. The challenge for Airbnb and other service providing platforms going forward is how to improve the screening process. In Airbnb’s case, that will prove difficult. If someone doesn’t want to rent their home/room to someone based on race, they can just ignore the request. This is a situation we will be keeping an eye on.
See the Twitter photo of the racist message from the Airbnb host.
My friend and classmate here at Kellogg had a hateful and racist encounter with an @Airbnb host. pic.twitter.com/rFHlwqy5sQ
— Shani C. Taylor (@shanictaylor) May 31, 2016