Perception.... oh boy.... Here's the email:
Earlier this summer, we announced Project Lighthouse—an initiative to uncover, measure, and overcome discrimination when booking or hosting a home on Airbnb. The project will start in the US on August 31, and we’d like to use information from hosts and guests in the US to help. This is a reminder that you can opt out in your Privacy Settings if you don’t want to participate.
Here’s how it works: • We’ll only use information you already share This project will address discrimination that's based on perception —so we’ll use first names and profile photos from hosts and guests to help us understand the perceived race someone might associate with them. • We’ll use it to uncover patterns of discrimination We’ll use this information to help us understand when and where racial discrimination is happening on our platform. Any insights will be used to help develop new features and policies that create a more equitable experience for everyone. • Information won’t be tied to your specific account We only analyze trends in bulk, and we won't use this information to change anyone's individual experience as a host or guest on Airbnb. Information will only be used for anti-discrimination work, and it will not be used in marketing or advertising. • We consulted with leading civil rights and privacy organizations to guide us We know how delicate this work is—so we developed this work with support and input from leading civil rights organizations like Color Of Change and Upturn, along with privacy organizations like Center for Democracy & Technology, to make sure our approach is both thoughtful and respectful of your privacy.
Your first name and profile photo may be used if you don’t opt out by August 31, 2020. You can opt out after August 31, 2020 at any time, and your information won’t be collected from that point forward for Project Lighthouse.
Read our frequently asked questions
By including your information, you’re helping us identify and prevent discrimination from happening on Airbnb—and you’re taking part in an initiative to better understand how and where discrimination happens on platforms like ours. This is an important step for our industry, and we’re making the methodology publicly available to other companies who want to join in the fight.
In solidarity, The Airbnb team
Cancel account.
I travel a lot. Last year I was on the road one week out of every three.
I was never happy with AirBnB. Price (including fees) was always high, units always mediocre, and the people smug and pretentious.
The site is marketing genius (and was likely designed by a psychologist), but the product is garbage. Business travelers are better off in hotels or corporate housing. Vacationers are better off in resorts or working with a local vacation rental company (there are many, and they're run by hard working Americans, not faceless corporations owned by hedge funds).
Just cancelled. Feels good man.
Why do you say people are better in resorts. I've saved tons of money by staying at Airbnb vs a hotel when I travel
I guess I would not necessarily recommend it for business travelers who are having the cost reimbursed by their employers anyway, but Airbnb and VRBO offer tremendous savings to people — particularly large families — looking to find a place to stay on vacation. If you have, say 6 people, you can save tons of money as compared to renting 3 hotel rooms in a resort, plus have a kitchen and a place to park your car. If you do your diligence, you can get some homes in some pretty fantastic locales too.
You aren't stuck with just hotels, though. For instance, my friends and I went to Disney a few years ago, and we rented a house (borderline mansion) that slept 8 for about $800 total for (I believe) 5 nights (might have been 6). It was only 4 of us, but it was cheap enough that we didn't care, because the place was gorgeous, had a pool, hot tub, etc, and $200 a person was still dirt cheap compared to any hotel we could have got. We found the place just on one of many sites where you'd search for hotels I think -- forget exactly how we found it, but it wasn't Air BnB, and it wasn't a lucky find, either (there were tons of similar houses/rental properties). I also grew up near a popular beach-town/vacation area, and it was similar, where tons of local companies handled property rentals, where a nice house right by the beach could be easily found and rented for anywhere between like $700 and $1500/week depending on the house/how many it slept
Well, ok, if you have other sites to rent from that’s fine. But staying at a resort is much more expensive.
Depends where Airbnb is used. I used it in Japan a couple years ago and got beautiful, super clean stays for low prices.
I have done very well with VRBO. I have a system for screening management where I ask a few very specific questions. If I get a pre-prepared response I eliminate them, also if they are slow to get back to me. This has been very effective