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Today, across the United States thousands of Airbnb host heads are exploding. Accounts are being deleted as hosts stand by their conviction that Airbnb and politics have nothing to do with each other. (Yay for me. )
The text of the email:
As we work to process the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, we wanted to send a message to you directly. To hosts and guests who are hurting, angry, and scared, we want you to know that Airbnb stands with you.
Discrimination is the greatest threat to a community built on belonging and acceptance. It cuts to the core of who we are and what we believe in. Airbnb stands with Black Lives Matter, and we reject racism, bigotry, and hate.
We canât talk about recent events without also acknowledging the painful truth that some hosts and guests still experience discrimination, something that is the very opposite of our mission to create belonging. In 2016, Airbnb launched our nondiscrimination policy and community commitment, and over 1.3 million people who declined the pledge have been removed from our platform. We still have work to do, and weâre continuing to take action on our commitment to fighting discrimination.
One way weâre doing that is by donating a total of $500,000 to the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter foundation in support of their fight for equality and justice, in addition to matching donations to both groups made from all of our employees. Another is sharing an Activism and Allyship guide that our Black employee resource group, Black@Airbnb, prepared for our team, which references work from activists and experts in antiracism. We thought it would be helpful to share these resources with youâas we all work together to become better and more active allies.
Oops. He has always lived in San Francisco and Airbnb is headquartered there.
As a supporter of Black Lives Matter, Iâm happy to see an organization I support get a donation, I donât much care who it is from. Do I think itâs a good business practice? Probably not. However, if a a bunch of angry anti-BLM people leave the platform it is good for me, both guest and host wise.
Again, maybe this is a bad idea but Iâm sure Master Chesky can do more than one thing at a time.
I think the wise move would have been to donate personally to BLM, make a show of it but leave Airbnb out of it. Especially since host bore the brunt of the CV19 debacle Airbnb monies shouldnât be used at this time to support anything other than Airbnb and their clients.
Companies rarely do anything because theyâre nice. I am always skeptical of the motivations behind these moves.
Many companies headquartered in and around San Francisco did similar things over the past few days, including the company where I work and companies where friends and former colleagues are working. However, apparently, there is now backlash about these same companies not doing enough, being insensitive, being inauthentic. People basically think companies are making boastful statements about their discrimination policies as a way to garner media attention.
An actual cash contribution is a little more serious than humble brags about how your corporation simply obeys existing law.
Iâd like to be a more ethical consumer but I mostly find myself giving up and deciding that I should do what is convenient and cheap and funnel my money towards causes I believe in. For 2 years I donated 10% of my Airbnb net revenue to a such a cause and mentioned this on my listing. This year choosing will be a bit more challenging. I wouldnât choose BLM for that purpose.
I appreciate seeing Airbnb take a positive stand. I appreciate their willingness to try to help a causeâthey donât have to. It would Have been easier for them to keep the money than be berated by Grouchy-pants people
If Chesky wanted to make a donation, he should have done it privately, like other billionaires have done. It would have had the same optics- good for the company image.
Itâs outrageous to me for Airbnb to donate half a million dollars to BLM after hosts just lost all their bookings to COVID cancellations and are financially suffering, laying off 1900 of their staff, with CS now reportedly frustratingly difficult to get a response from. And yet they have a spare half a million kicking around?
Agree. Airbnbâs donation is a false front to portray themselves as a âwokeâ corporation. I know for a fact, they discriminate themselves, but in todayâs corporate world, image is everything, hypocrisy reigns. Their brand image is more important than actually promoting racial progress within their own company. Plus, if they want to be acquired (which I imagine they are desperate to be), they need to play the PR game the larger corporations play, who are âdownâ with PC culture. Thatâs my take.
Good, Iâm genuinely pleased for you. In fact, putting the central issue here aside, Iâm happy with the destination of the funds. However, where were Airbnb with their largesse in 2013? In 2014?
The point I was (poorly) trying to make.
Thereâll be a few unemployed ex Airbnb employees sitting there thinking that half a million dollars could have kept a few of them in a job for another month or so.
Exactly. This smacks to me a of a PR stunt, brought on by the current troubles being experienced throughout the U.S.
To date, I have a May 31 support ticket open that I was told I would need to wait âup to 10 minutesâ for a specialist to respond. Itâs now June 4 where I live and they still havenât answered.
Airbnb prob sent BLM a blog post. âWeâll pay our donation to you by July if you meet these criteria.â July comes âweâll pay you by Augustâ. BLM contact support âplease see blog post for all the details on that program thatâs handled by a special department that has no communication capabilityâ.
Airbnb certainly isnât the only one donating to BLM. Many donations are going to less polarizing groups and it probably would have been wise of Airbnb to do the same. How does someone who relies on the internet for their business but disagrees with the various racial justice movements square their values with the need to make money. I struggle with this every day except from the other side of the political arena.
This is my personal online statement and I am ok Airbnb gives money to BLM.
âI have the most awesome friend. She is 10 times more ambitious and beautiful than ordinary folks, like me. She knows her destiny is for success. She is one of the most hard working and creative people I have ever met, likely even more creative than this writer. She designed and showed her over-the-top fashion collections at LA Fashion week, NY fashion week, and Paris fashion week, completely steadfastly and fearlessly. Please support Black People in their struggle against american apartheid and Black women owned businesses like @deliseana_fashiondesigner , you wonât regret it. Black Lives Matter!!! She is only one of several of the most incredible queen princess bees that I have the pleasure of knowing. I am so proud I can call her my friend:) xxxxxxâ
This bear represents a family of over 200 wool teddy bears I made. They all are different, yet all of the same pattern, trim, and stuffing. They all get along very well! People be like bears!! BTW this one is certainly one of the cutest, makes me laugh when I see this photo:)
