Nest of Thieves: Airbnb’s New Policy Costs Me

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed by AirbnbHell.com users do not necessarily reflect those of the Airbnb Hell staff.  That being said, we will continue to provide a free and uncensored platform for all of our contributors to share their Airbnb related stories, opinions, and experiences.

I’m a pensioner, an old lady who can’t afford to be ripped off by Airbnb. I had booked a holiday in the UK. I paid for it in full and was due to take it in November 2016. Then I received an email from Airbnb saying that everyone who uses their website will need to sign their Equality Commitment. I could agree to almost all of it, but though I have no property to let out, I could not agree to let out a room in my home to a gay couple. I have no problems renting from a gay couple. But as gay marriage is against my religious principles, I just cannot sign it. I was able to get a refund for the actual holiday but not for the service charge. I’m an old lady and can’t afford to lose that service charge. I would understand if they had told me before I paid my money out, that this is the way it’s going to be. That would have been fair. But this isn’t even legal! Never mind fair. They state that any bookings I already have will be cancelled if I don’t sign. You can’t do that! But they have done that. They have ripped off this old lady and robbed her blind. Why are they allowed to get away with it?

Has Airbnb Missed the Mark Entirely?

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed by AirbnbHell.com users do not necessarily reflect those of the Airbnb Hell staff.  That being said, we will continue to provide a free and uncensored platform for all of our contributors to share their Airbnb related stories, opinions, and experiences.

I am a boring old white male married with three children. I have no racial prejudices: the best man at my wedding was an Indian, I lived in Brixton when it was mostly black, I have gay friends, and I spent 11 years in the Middle East. I have employed Arabs and Jews and have friends who are both Muslims and Jewish – I even have a couple of friends who are lesbians – so clearly I am not racially prejudiced or against any particular minority group.

So what is Airbnb trying to do? They have sent me an email saying that unless I agree to their anti-discriminatory, pro-gay, pro-this and that terms and conditions, my guest house listing will be removed and any bookings I have made as an individual will be cancelled. What on earth are they trying to do? They are just an app with some really annoying features, like removing useful information from emails. This unbelievable arrogance speaks of delusions of grandeur. I will not agree to their new terms and conditions; it is not their business how I discriminate. I can fully understand why a old school catholic family may not want to host gay people. Surely they have that choice; it is their house and I am sure gay people would feel uncomfortable. Similarly, would a black guy want to rent a room from someone who is a member of the UK National Front? Probably not.

We all have our preferences. Airbnb has lost my listing for sure.

The Airbnb Community Commitment

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed by AirbnbHell.com users do not necessarily reflect those of the Airbnb Hell staff.  That being said, we will continue to provide a free and uncensored platform for all of our contributors to share their Airbnb related stories, opinions, and experiences.

It seems that this new policy is leaving a huge gap in the non-discrimination policy. Airbnb is apparently allowing rampant and blatant discrimination against what certainly is a fair percentage of users. I expect that a federal lawsuit against Airbnb will be necessary to right this wrong. The discriminated group are the pedophiles, child molesters, rapists, and criminals that search for victims among single females or hosts with children in the home. Do you want to hurt the feelings of these criminals by making them feel less than welcome? I should hope not! Certainly you are only partially addressing this discriminated group by creating a mandatory policy for forcing single white women into having black males in their guest rooms! Just because fifty percent of blacks have a criminal record by the age of twenty-three, it is not their fault! This racial discrimination against black criminals has got to stop! I expect that the present administration will use the justice department to correct this grievous injustice in the near future (after all, if they are no longer in prison haven’t they “paid” for their crimes?) and now deserve to be restored to full rights regardless of how many times they have been convicted? Thank you for forcing everyone to stand up and “do the right thing.” This is just the camel’s nose under the tent for moving forward with the political allegiances which should be included in the future mandatory statement. Great job, Airbnb; it is all about controlling the masses and deciding what is best for them whether they like it or not!