Airbnb is launching new policies in a bid to answer the discrimination problem that is currently rampant in the home-sharing service.
A Harvard Business School study released late last year revealed that there is racial prejudice among Airbnb hosts, as they have a higher tendency of turning down requests made by potential guests with names that sound African American compared with those whose names sound White American.
In June, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said that the company was revisiting its business model to figure out how to fight against discrimination, adding that Airbnb has zero tolerance for racism in its platform.
In an official blog post, Airbnb revealed that it was following through with its promise, with a review that acquired advice from leaders of different organizations including former United States Attorney General Eric Holder.
Laura Murphy, the former head of the Washington D.C. Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union who was tapped by Airbnb to lead the review, has now issued a 32-page comprehensive report [PDF]. The report outlines the review process and discusses some of the initiatives that Airbnb will launch to make the home-sharing community fair for everyone.
Beginning Nov. 1, Airbnb hosts will have to agree to a stronger and more detailed non-discrimination policy. Airbnb is asking its hosts to commit to treating all members of the home-sharing community with respect and without bias or judgment.
Airbnb will also be enforcing a new Open Doors policy starting Oct. 1 that will allow guests to receive assistance from Airbnb to look for alternative accommodations after any case of discrimination in the platform, such as in their bookings being canceled or in their interactions with hosts. The policy will be enforced by a customer support team which will be available 24/7.
Experiments will also be done to reduce the prominence of the profile pictures of guests during the booking process, with the other parts of profiles to be enhanced with objective information. How this would look upon implementation, however, is unclear.
The home-sharing service will also be increasing the availability of the Instant Book feature, which will allow guests to make bookings immediately without getting the prior approval of hosts. The goal of the company is to have 1 million Instant Book-compatible lists by the first day of next year.
Airbnb will also be working with bias experts to offer anti-bias training to the home-sharing community. The hosts who complete the training will be publicly acknowledged in the platform.
Diversity advocates applaud Airbnb's new policies as notable first steps, but the question is whether the moves are enough to prevent discrimination, and if they would be enforced properly.
