Airbnb investigating after black woman's booking rejected by host - but white friend accepted
Ruth Ibegbuna hoped to book a week in Spain but says her first choice flat was refused - until her white friend booked later.
Monday 14 October 2019 21:51, UK
Airbnb says it is investigating after a black woman claimed her booking was rejected by a host in Spain - only for her white friend's identical request to be accepted later.
Ruth Ibegbuna, from Bradford, hoped to book herself a flat through Airbnb for a week in Spain, and with her excellent guest reviews, didn't envisage a problem from the place she had her eye on.
But she says her request was declined, only to then find her white friend was able to make the same booking without fuss.
She tweeted: "An Airbnb host in Spain has declined my week-long booking of her apartment despite all my excellent reviews from previous hosts. Asked a white friend to try for same dates and it's suddenly available after all....#EverydayRacism."
In a direct response to Ms Ibegbuna, Airbnb said it "does not condone discrimination in any way".
The company has also promised to have a team follow up with her concern.
Airbnb recently changed its policy so hosts cannot see guests' profile pictures until after the booking is confirmed.
If a guest has their booking cancelled at this stage, they can contact the travel platform to raise concerns.
Ms Ibegbuna, who is the founder of a leadership project based in Greater Manchester, received plenty of support on Twitter, including the offer of a free night in an apartment in Croatia, should she decide to visit there.
Airbnb's policy states that "bias, prejudice, racism, and hatred have no place on our platform or in our community".
It adds: "While hosts are required to follow all applicable laws that prohibit discrimination based on such factors as race, religion, national origin, and others listed below, we commit to do more than comply with the minimum requirements established by law."
The company's specific guidelines for hosts in the US and EU states no one can decline a booking request "based on race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status".
On how they deal with suspected violation, the policy states: "If the host improperly rejects guests on the basis of protected class, or uses language demonstrating that his or her actions were motivated by factors prohibited by this policy, Airbnb will take steps to enforce this policy, up to and including suspending the host from the platform."
An Airbnb spokesman told Sky News: "We are actively investigating this report and providing the user with our support.
"Discrimination has no place on Airbnb, goes against everything we stand for and we take action on issues are brought to our attention, including removing users from our community."
Airbnb also promises to find guests a place to stay if they are discriminated against, with personalised support from specially trained employees.