If you’re a member of Black Lives Matter and you’re traveling to Los Angeles, make sure you check in with your comrades for a place to stay. Or, at least don’t try to book a place with Tina and Jay on Airbnb. They state specifically on their ad, a screenshot of which is below the fold, “No members of the exclusionary group Black lives Matter. They destroyed our property in riots. Actually All lives matter. Everyone experiences equal discrimination of some sort.”
A screenshot of the tweet surfaced after Twitter user Tariq Nasheed, a filmmaker, posted the ad with the caption, “Shout out to @Airbnb 4 continuing 2 allow online safe spaces for white supremacists. They allow ppl like this to post blatant anti-Black ads.”
The ad is listed under the group “Mv3”, the hosts are listed as “Tina and Jay,” and is for a Los Angeles property.
Now, it could very well be that “Tina and Jay” had property destroyed during a protest-against-the-police-which-turned-violent-after-the-police-did-what-they-do-best, however, at this time we can’t ascertain the city, the date of the “riot,” the exact location of the property, etc., so we’ll just have to take Tina’s word for it.
Or not.
Airbnb responded to Nasheed by stating they “do not condone discrimination in any way,” and requested his email address so they could follow up with him; presumably to investigate the ad placed by Tina. They also provided a link to their nondiscrimination policy.
Here’s what it says about race:
Airbnb hosts may not
- Decline a guest based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Impose any different terms or conditions based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Post any listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any guest on account of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
And here’s what the policy says about “Personal Preferences”:
Airbnb hosts may
- Except as noted above, Airbnb hosts may decline to rent based on factors that are not prohibited by law. For example, except where prohibited by law, Airbnb hosts may decline to rent guests with pets, or to guests who smoke.
- Require guests to respect restrictions on foods consumed in the listing (e.g., a host who maintains a Kosher or vegetarian kitchen may require guests to respect those restrictions).
- Nothing in this policy prevents a host from turning down a guest on the basis of a characteristic that is not protected under the civil rights laws or closely associated with a protected class. For example, an Airbnb host may turn down a guest who wants to smoke in a unit, or place limits on the number of guests in a unit.
Screenshot of the Airbnb ad in question. Click on the wording of the ad, on Twitter, for a closer look.
Again, it is quite possible that Tina and Jay had some property destroyed during a protest against police brutality. But even still, without any credible info on their ad—like a link as proof (but why would they provide a link as proof, it’s Airbnb for goodness sakes)—the ad does smack of a wee bit of a tad of racism. Which wouldn’t be the first time racism and Airbnb teamed up.