Uh. Not true, exactly. You do agree to NOT discriminate based on sexual identity along with a whole lotta other stuff. If they can’t agree, then don’t be an Airbnb host.
Hi! Sorry to hear all that (just read the topic) i am curious, since i am greek myself, which cities did you try? Though airport implies Athens.
@gettingBetter, I didn’t see this mentioned in another reply, but perhaps the declines are [all or in part] because you’re a Superhost. Several hosts on this forum have themselves said they don’t want to host Superhosts because they find them nitpicky as guests. I don’t know if you’ve been an Airbnb guest since becoming a Superhost, or whether you’ve received declines by hosts in other countries, but I just wanted to mention this as a factor to consider.
Italians are super-judgmental by the Catholic verb. Even those who will describe themselves as ‘tolerant’ or ‘open-minded’ really are not. I have several gay friends in Italy and when I used to host dinners at my place in Italy, with both gay and non-gay friends, there were some judging looks.
The average Italian male will tell you ‘he is fine with gays as long as they stay away from him’, which implies anything from giving a preference to non-gay guests or business partners to avoiding social contacts with them, to verbal or physical aggression. There have been reported cases of gay couples (male couples) who were assaulted and beaten in Rome just because they were maybe holding hands or showing an affection beyond those judged merely “friendly” among males.
Lesbian travelers shouldn’t be worried by physical aggression, but may be subjected to verbal aggression.
There is a platform for gay rentals, https://www.misterbandb.com/, though in the pictures there are only males and I didn’t get the impression they are LGBT friendly.
I lived in N Italy for years, am an Italian citizen and am married to an Italian. I never saw much discrimination based on orientation, but in my experience Italians tend to keep such things less in the open. I imagine that there is more discrimination in the south- the north is pretty liberal.
Another reason they may not reply is that (again, in my experience) Italians aren’t as glued to the internet and their phones as people from many other countries. They may have actually just not seen the message.
I am a resident of Canada. I believe in equal rights for all. It’s high time we treat everyone equally. Give every human being the respect they deserve. Why would the straight boast over the other? Human mind is the biggest puzzle I have seen which can never be solved completely. The more you learn, you will discover more. Check this article which would definitely vindicate my stand " Advantages of gay relationships over straight" http://www.bespokematchmaking.com/6-advantages-of-gay-relationships-vs-straight-relationships/. Having said that, I am straight, but respect every human being.
I am Italian and I got rejected with no reply several time by Italian hosts and I am not even a LGBT guest.
In Italy I didn’t see any kind of discrimination against the LGBT community also Italy legalizes same-sex union. The main problem is that in Italy costumers service is very bad and they will not care about you many times, it doesn’t matter if you belong to the LGBT community or not.
My suggestion is to move on, if you get angry every time you meet people that are supposed to do their job and they are not doing it is going to be very frustrating very soon. In north Italy the situation is a bit better, but still…
As a mother of young children, what I like about airbnb is that you get to meet people from different cultures, races and sexuality. Myself and hubby have always taught the children that love is love. One of my favourite guests was a gay guest last year, the children loved him and we used to go out for coffee. We have a muslim lady with us 7 months, going home next week and we had our first black guest last week.
Even as an adult I have learnt about different cultures which is lovely. One of my boys mentioned in his daily news in school, that we had a very tall man visit us from the UK and he was lovely, his colour was not an issue his height was what stuck him.
I had a college student last year and I recommended him to go to a well known gay pub in Dublin, because the entertainment is brilliant , he looked at me and said why would I ever go to a place like that with those people, he was only 17. My eldest heard the comment and said, that’s so mean of him.
When you close off and discriminate, you should not be in this type of work you want your guests to have the best time and be comfortable with you
He might have reacted like that, because he possibly thought that you were implying that he was gay.
In case you knew he was gay, it just might be that pubs are not his kind of environment.
In case you knew he was straight it simply might have been a bad idea of sending him to a gay bar. LOL. (FYI: I am gay myself.)
Not to say that you meant well without a doubt and that the entertainment indeed is brilliant . And I love everything else in your post .
I hear what you are saying, valid points, always good to get another prespective. He had a girlfriend during the previous summer, I recommend this specific pub/club as its 2 minutes from his college, also its free to get in and there are different acts every night. A free club in Dublin is like hens teeth:grin:
I spend a lot of time in I and am married to an Italian. I find your comments quite surprising. We have a holiday home in an old winery that we have restored in Sicily and we have made many friends there. Unfortunately there are people who are prejudiced everywhere and I don’t think Italy is better or worse in this respect. I have many gay friends who travel to Italy frequently and have never experienced any problems. In fact my best friend who happens to be gay, met his partner during a visit to the Vatican city and they have now been together for 18 years.
I do think that the reason for rejection may be more a question of lack of organisation and poor attitude towards customer service in Italy. Having said that, once you meet people face to face in Italy, they are charming and very generous. There is so much to see in Italy and such a rich history and geography, that I would suggest you persist and make your trip.
One question I have is how far ahead are you trying to book? In Italy and particularly in southern Italy people simply do not plan ahead. Making a booking three months in advance is totally too far ahead for most people…! Last year I wanted to book a hotel for a wedding in Sicily this summer and asked my Italian husband to call them, as I was not able to do it that far ahead on booking.com. He thought I was totally crazy and absolutely refused to do it.
I don’t want to tout for business , but we rent out on airbnb a separate guest suite on our farm in Sicily. You are very welcome to book. The reference is [www.airbnb.com/rooms/16053423](http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1605342
We don’t mind if hosts post their airbnbs, especially not when they are a gorgeous as that place. I wish I had a trip to Sicily planned!
We are a gay male couple in Melbourne Australia. We make it obvious in our listing that we are a couple. Had over 150 guests. Even a family man fron Iran. Never a problem. I hope you reported that couple to Airbnb. Sorry that happened to you.
Hosts turn down bookings for so many reasons, it may have nothing to do with LGBT. You state you are a Superhost, that in itself can intimidate some hosts. Other reasons include hosts waiting for a longer booking or a booking that fits into a particular date slot. Unless you have clear evidence its best not to assume your being discriminated against. Airbnb has a new anti-discrimanation policy that hosts have to now adhere to and this came about primarily because of the vast levels of proven discrimination against people of colour, who found if extremely difficult to book Airbnb properties. If you are still looking to get accommodation in Italy, you’ll get something lovely soon. Don’t give up!
Once you believe you’re discriminated against, it perverts your whole view of the world and every act is perceived as a slight.