Airbnb no longer allows guests to filter for pets allowed

You have a strange attitude about this or some kind of agenda that doesn’t make any sense to me. Quotation marks can’t fix everything. They aren’t duct tape :laughing:

I’m sorry. I don’t remember where you live but does everyone there equate standing up for civil rights with calling the cops or is it just you?

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A specific cultural group that don’t treat women well.
Recently a family from this particular group made completely ridiculous accusations against an airline in Australia. They just wanted their own entitled way.

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As you yourself pointed out, there is no “civil right” to bring young children into a short term rental.

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Oh… that group.

20202020

I’ve never gotten one of those, but i got one the other day saying something like “Warning- this inquiry may not be be legitimate, do you want to report this guest?” (I can’t remember the exact wording)
I couldn’t figure out what triggered it, except the guest had asked if he could book for three nights, and if I could “reserve” the following three nights for him, as he wasn’t sure at that point whether he could stay or had to get back for work. (Of course I said no, that hosts don’t block dates on the off-chance that a guest might extend)

So maybe the algorithm took that as him wanting to book outside the platform? Seems weird that it would be able to infer something like that.

I literally guffawed! That’s a lot of groups. Here in the US it’s Republican state legislators. Luckily they never rent my Airbnb so I don’t have to worry about it.

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I pointed out that the federal fair housing laws don’t apply to STRs, which is true, but there are many states and cities that have their own laws that prohibit discrimination against familial status in STRs. And as I said I don’t ask guests where they live. It’s possible they live somewhere where they are protected and have just become accustomed to not being discriminated against. That doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me but rather it sounds ideal.

Plainly, I don’t want children in my house. Where I live it is (currently) not illegal for me to refuse them so I do but that doesn’t make it less discriminatory. I don’t feel good about it. It is a moral conflict for me. And though these guests tend to be pretty bitchy about trying to force me to accept their kids, and are certainly very annoying and wholly incorrect about the specific law they quote me, they are not wrong. It is not fair.

And because it doesn’t exist in some sort of societal vacuum it is not irrelevant either. I believe it is preferable for them to say something about it, even if it’s technically incorrect, rather than not say something at all. Would you still call it “litigious” and “like calling the cops” if they threatened to report me because I refused to rent to them because they were black? or Muslim? Or trans?

Personally, I’d really like to live in a society where people become accustomed to not being discriminated against. If it takes a bunch of “snitches”, lawsuits and calls to the cops, so be it. That has indeed been the most successful approach thus far so I cannot abide any inclination to discourage it. It is what works. (We already tried just patiently waiting for white Christian men to spontaneously be decent human beings for 200 years and it didn’t work. So, IMO, it would be plain foolish to revert to that plan, lol).

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That is quite different. That is discrimination based upon something that is part and parcel of who that person is. People choose to have children or pets, which some places are set up and suitable for, and some aren’t, whereas there’s nothing unsuitable about any listing for someone who is black, or Muslim, or trans.

Also people can get babysitters or board pets- you can’t remove your skin, your hijab or turban, or your disability, and leave it at home.

As someone who raised 3 kids, and has 6 grandkids, if a place said it was unsuitable for children, it would never occur to me to consider that discriminatory. I wouldn’t want to take kids to a place that was set up for adults only, for instance had lots of breakable stuff, antique lamps, etc., nor somewhere there would be safety hazards. Having to constantly watch the kids to make sure they don’t damage anything or get hurt doesn’t make for a relaxing holiday.

There are lots of places where children or pets aren’t allowed and no one considers it discriminatory. You can’t take children into a bar or a strip club, and you can’t take pets into a restaurant or many other businesses or onto public transportation unless they are service animals.

As I only rent to one guest at a time, the subject of accepting kids doesn’t come up, and if I had a bigger place, I would accept kids, because I’m used to having kids around and would simply kid-proof.

But I don’t think you need to feel a moral dilemma about having a no children listing. It really isn’t discriminatory in the same sense as refusing to accept someone because of the color of their skin or sexual orientation. The parents who scream discrimination because their children aren’t welcome everywhere are just entitled brats, IMO.

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Says you. But there are plenty of people who disagree and would be happy to die on that hill (and I’m bringing the popcorn for when they do, lol). There are tons of websites, publications, organizations, private clubs and, apparently, even a state legislature that will gladly explain to you why they think any listing could be entirely unsuitable for someone who is black, Muslim or trans.

It’s why we have to have laws and rules about it. Those laws make a significant difference and I think they’re important so I don’t want to undermine them by cherry-picking which parts of them to respect.

I yam who I yam and I have prejudices like anyone but there’s no reason for me to cultivate blind spots. I’m just trying to keep myself accountable by looking at it. IMO, it’s a good habit.

Funny. During this conversation, I received a message from FF inquiring about one of my monthly rentals from someone with a 2-year-old. My first thought was, “how much accelerant is it going to take to burn this house down so I don’t have to deal with this?” :rofl:

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Oh, I fully support anti-discrimination laws when it comes to race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities. I just don’t see there being places where children and pets are not welcome falling into the same category.

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