Airbnb isn’t the only business to be negatively affected by association (albeit in this case an unwanted takeover) with the Trump administration.
Tesla may say one things, but it does another. The company was sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission due to pervasive racial harassment of black employees.
And “everyone can succeed, regardless…” doesn’t mean people are hired or passed over, regardless of their demographic.
You have to read carefully and between the lines of these sleazebags’ statements.
I first heard this news on the day it was announced, from an upcoming repeat guest who was considering cancelling on principle and we have since been discussing the ethical quandary involved. I THINK I have landed that I desperately want to be part of a message sent to airbnb that removing Joe Gebbia from the Board is mandatory. Selling his 7% would be nice too! (Or perhaps rolling it into the company to reduce our fees! ha ha!) And though it’s hard to be objective considering that airbnb has made my life as a musician SO much less pressured financially in the past 11 years, I can’t help but wonder if it makes sense to also allow the political views and misuse of wealth and status of this one person to do damage to us so directly. I really don’t know the “morally correct” answer and would love to hear other’s views of how they’re dealing with this challenge. I have had many people say - just go to VRBO. 1) I have an 11 year history with airbnb that was hard-earned. And 2) isn’t there a good chance they have similar issues? Nothing is “clean” any more!
This is definitely something to be aware of. I wonder how many people who are participating in this Airbnb boycott, whether it’s guests booking through another platform or hosts pulling their listings, pay attention to the politics of the other businesses they patronize. For instance, Jeff Bezos has been cozying up to Trump and prevented the Washington Post, which he owns, from endorsing Kamala Harris. Are the Airbnb boycotters also boycotting Amazon? Do they research the political contributions given by the stores they shop at?
Also, most guests likely have no idea that VRBO only lists entire house listings. So homeshare hosts like me will lose bookings, with no other platform for guests to find us on, in spite of the fact that we may also be disgusted by the Joe Gebbia affair.
So complicated. Just the mention of DOGE is such a hot button now. I’m miserable about so much of our country’s direction that the issue of co-chair Airbnb is on a long long list. I will continue to honor the principles of DEI because I believe in them. ABNB has long passed the innocent stage. I will continue hosting as long as I can. And make sure that my passport is current.
Or Elon could just pay taxes.
My god man, can you you really be this dim? Has to be a bot. If not, I would be embassassed to admit it if I were you. Not trying to be mean, but geez…
The dominoes are starting to fall from unchecked Capitalism. The billionaires have become the referees of themselves. Honestly I think Bernie Sanders in 2016 was our last good chance to balance things out a bit. Oops.
MAGAs appear to be incapable of shame or embarrassment, even when they are proven to be entirely wrong. Then they just deflect to Hillary’s emails or Hunter Biden’s laptop or whatever else they keep in their grab bag of manufactured outrage.
Yessir. Facts and data don’t matter to cult members.
In reality, Chesky is no better than this Doge creep. Ask these people who are canceling reservations if they still order from Amazon, or have an Iphone…etc etc
Choose your outrage…
I believe Elon Musk pays more tax than any other human in the world.
That is quite apart from the billions of tax he pays through his various companies.
And SEC is a pretty official source confirming his tax liability.
I think he contributes a lot. And is finding billions in waste and fraud through DOGE.
As for being Dim or being a Bot or being “embassassed”? well, insults are one way to communicate, but this is not very ‘inclusive’ if you are supporting the DEI camp. Which I do, just not by spending billions the country doesn’t have. Good on them for removal of this. If given a choice between feeding your kids or paying for their DEI tutor, which would you choose? It may sound strange, but USA is 36 Trillion in debt and climbing. It’s time to cut back, and DEI is ONE of many areas that we simply can’t afford anymore.
Just FYI I am not a bot. I just have different ideas from you. I respect your views though. It is actually ok to have different views from others
Not when the implementation of those views leads to harming others.
Says who? Musk and Trump? They’ve gotten rid of the ethics dept., Trump has fired all the competent, experienced federal employees and appointees, installing those whose main qualification is the eageress and willingness to do his dirty work, and there is zero corroboration of this supposed “billions of waste and fraud” by any independent body.
And DEI has nothing to do with being inclusive of people whose views one finds repugnant. DEI addresses inequities in hiring and promotion in businesses and institutions based on race, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc.
you are drinking the Kool-Aid…
We are probably going to switch to VRBO. My husband and I are still in the discussion process about the switch, nothing decided yet.
In addition…it is good to hear what people think about this. I live in a pretty small place with a very few Airbnb’s. I am going to ask our current bookings, when they booked, did they check other platform’s, like VRBO?
I know that it APPEARS to folks that ‘switching’ is a vote against the MAGA torment we are seeing now, and I ‘should’ be applauding it. And of course I support anything that makes people angry who think that ‘woke’ is something bad…
Actually, I am, but for a different reason: every person who leaves the platform makes OUR listing more bookable. And the person who moved their airbnb is now one less ‘competitor’.
Sarcastic? Yes, but also honest…
If someone wants or needs to stay in a specific location, they’ll find a platform or a direct host to accommodate them. My last two attempts to book with Airbnb in Eastern Europe were truly disappointing. One property falsely advertised its location by over 10 kilometers, practically in another city - while another host never even responded to my booking request. Luckily, I found alternatives and didn’t end up sleeping outside.
I genuinely appreciate how I work with Airbnb. I can even say it’s far better than BDC. But let’s be realistic. Guests who can’t find a specific rental on Airbnb will simply book it from the platform who have it. And if a host disappears completely, travelers will turn to the nearest available option. You can’t be that nearest option everywhere in the world. This approach won’t win you any new guests.
It’s a while since you started this thread, Rachel. Have tried to post but I’ve just joined and my posts don’t seem to be getting through. Wish I had a way to get in more direct touch w.you and a few other thoughtful resisters posting here!