On June 25th 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that housing discrimination does not have to be intentional in order to be illegal. Tell that to some Airbnb clients who are finding out that housing discrimination is now global. For those of you living offline, Airbnb is an online service that connects people looking for short term rooms or house rentals with landlords looking for short term tenants. Think Uber for rooms.
I myself just recently used the service to reserve a room for homecoming at my old alma mater Cornell U (Go Big Red!). The couple who own the home are white and I am “Melanin Infused” (of African descent). I was asked to verify my identity and submit my photo. I submitted my most professional photo with bow tie and was approved with no problem.
Others have not been so lucky. Many people of African descent have reported being turned down for Airbnb rentals for no apparent reason, only to discover their white friends booked the same rooms for the same dates. Hummmm. Wonder what happened? Cue Batman music. Airbnb to the rescue has responded by issuing new policies to landlords regarding anti-bias training, courtesy of the ACLU, promises of diversity in its staff and possible blind booking. Blind booking would remove photo requirements creating possible cringe worthy face to face introductions. Airbnb could take a page from Uber, who now only shares photos after bookings are confirmed.
Since Airbnb is now global, housing discrimination is now global and their new model is a petri dish for trying to solve the dogged problem of discrimination and racism. Call me when you solve it Airbnb, so I can call the judicial system, prison industrial complex, board rooms, executive suites, financial systems, political systems and basically everyone else and let them know you solved it.
If you are looking for a place to live, longer than a hotel stay, and don’t want to worry about your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or familial status… AskHollingsworth.
Photo Source: dot429.com