Airbnb partners with NAACP to recruit minority hosts

The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People announced Wednesday that it has teamed up with Airbnb, the short-term rental company beleaguered by discrimination complaints, to expand the service to more minority communities.

The century-old civil rights organization touted the move as a “landmark partnership” that it hopes will spread the economic benefits of tourism.

“For too long, black people and other communities of color have faced barriers to access new technology and innovations,” Derrick Johnson, interim president and chief executive of the NAACP, said in a statement.

Johnson praised Airbnb’s commitment to bringing jobs and other economic opportunities to black communities, calling it a “tremendous step in the right direction for Silicon Valley to open its doors to African Americans and other communities.”

Belinda Johnson, Airbnb’s chief business affairs officer, said in a statement that the company’s model allowing hosts to decide when to rent out their space, keeping 97% of what they charge, has democratized capitalism.

“Our fastest-growing communities across major U.S. cities are in communities of color,” Johnson said, “and we’ve seen how home sharing is an economic lifeline for families.”

The company’s own analyses have shown that up to 50% of guest spending occurs in the neighborhoods where the guests stay. A 2016 Airbnb study of its New York City host community found that the number of Airbnb guests grew 78% year-over-year in the 30 city ZIP codes with the highest percentage of black residents, compared with 50% citywide. Similar studies last year by the company in Chicago’s South Side and Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood found even higher rates of growth.

Airbnb has been controversial in Washington, as well as in other high-rent cities, because building owners and landlords often opt to list their housing, including rent-controlled apartments, on the site to make more money off tourists. The District of Columbia Council is considering new rules allowing property owners to rent out only one unit at a time, and only in their permanent homes.

As part of the partnership, announced at the NAACP’s convention in Baltimore, local NAACP chapters will work with Airbnb to launch a community campaign educating more minorities on the economic benefits of hosting and bringing travelers to their neighborhoods. Airbnb has committed to sharing 20% of its earnings from the new community outreach efforts with the NAACP. The company has also committed to increasing the diversity of its U.S. employees to 11% from 9.6% by the end of the year, with guidance by the NAACP.

San Francisco-based Airbnb, founded in 2008 and now operating in 50,000 cities in 191 countries, has faced a barrage of complaints over the years that hosts discriminate against minorities trying to book rentals. Incidents of discrimination occur so frequently that people share their stories of racial bias under the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack.

The cases have also prompted minority entrepreneurs to launch their own home-sharing startups, including Innclusive and Noirbnb, targeting minorities who have experienced discrimination when trying to book using Airbnb. Rohan Gilkes started Innclusive last year after he was repeatedly turned away when using Airbnb to look for a place to stay in Idaho. His white friend was able to book a home immediately.

A company review last year “generally confirmed public reports that minorities struggle more than others to book a listing.” Airbnb has launched its own measures to fight discrimination on its platform, including making user profiles less prominent during the booking process and increasing the number of “Instant Book” listings.

Airbnb recently banned a California woman from hosting after she canceled a guest’s mountain cabin reservation at the last minute because of the guest’s race.

“I wouldn’t rent to u if you were the last person on earth. One word says it all. Asian,” Tami Barker, the host, texted Dyne Suh, according to a screenshot of the exchange Suh posted on Facebook.

When Suh replied that she would report Barker to Airbnb for being racist, Barker told her, “I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners.”

Airbnb has published a detailed nondiscrimination policy and requires users to commit to treating all members of the Airbnb community without bias, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age.

The company also has a new policy that guarantees alternate lodging for guests unable to book through Airbnb because of discrimination.

Jan writes for the Washington Post.