*NPR recently hosted a Twitter chat surrounding the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack, which was created by Quirtina Crittenden to share the challenges that black Airbnb renters have faced while using the website, reports the Huffington Post.
Hundreds of users voiced frustrations with the service, and many people reported having difficulties when trying to book places to stay.
The tweets follow a report by Harvard researchers — which analyzed listings in Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. — and found that fictional guests “with names like Lakisha or Rasheed were roughly 16 percent less likely to be accepted than identical guests with names like Brent or Kristen.”
David King, Airbnb’s head of diversity and belonging, responded to the allegations of discrimination in an email to Mashable.
“We recognize that bias and discrimination present significant challenges and we are taking steps to address them,” he said.
View some of the #AirbnbWhileBlack tweets below:
#AirbnbWhileBlack gave me the courage to report someone who canceled a reservation because of “repairs” yet still kept those dates open.
— Jasmine (@paladique) May 5, 2016
Airbnb? #AirbnbWhileBlack made a fake profile as a white guy and was accepted immediately. pic.twitter.com/zrHboWnJzj https://t.co/ac8KGrNFqR
— Tip (@SexyIoud) May 5, 2016
Real vs Fake white profile. I reported this to @airbnb for discrimination they have done nothing #AirbnbWhileBlack pic.twitter.com/PETc3kjORJ
— Commander in Queef (@Gaberull) May 5, 2016
Still a big fan of the service, but there’s a reason I don’t use my photo on my account. #AirbnbWhileBlack
— SIS-uh-lee HAIR(e) (@ciceflyyest_) May 5, 2016
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