Crude racial slurs led to Airbnb banning one of its hosts in North Carolina, who told a guest she was “not welcome because she is black”.
The exchange took place via text and was posted on Twitter by the user who identified as a friend of the woman. Sparking outrage, #AirbnbWhileBlack trended on Twitter after the incident.
The co-founder of Airbnb was quick to react by banning the host who goes by the name Todd Warner.
Airbnb has been facing a problem of racial bias. A study by Harvard revealed that Airbnb guests with distinctly African-American names were 16% less likely to be accepted by hosts as identical guests with distinctively white names.
People were appalled at the racism prevalent in America in the 21st century and demanded the host’s removal.
One person even tweeted as to why no legal action had been taken against the company and its hosts for such behaviour.
On 17 May, a man by the name of Gregory Selden brought out a lawsuit against the lodging company, when he was denied accommodation.
The lodging was listed on the site after he was denied a stay there. When the man created two other profiles with photos of white males, both of them were accepted the same day.
Several other people also shared their unpleasant, racist experiences with Airbnb.
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