4 ms·

I don't use Airbnb and most likely never will. However, let's say for argument sake I do want to rent my extra bedroom out. What if I don't want rent to some w

I don't use Airbnb and most likely never will. However, let's say for argument sake I do want to rent my extra bedroom out. What if I don't want rent to some weirdo crust punk? I wouldn't feel like my children are safe. I would probably only rent out to single professionals only. I guess Airbnb is not a good fit for hypothetical people like me.

angrow 10y ago
What makes you think this would be against the agreement? Is crust a religion? An disability? "Dirty" isn't a protected class. I've personally experienced that some hosts refuse to rent to unmarried couples. It was inconvenient and silly, but perfectly legal and nearly harmless (unless their actual problem was that only one of us was white, but who can say).
- toomuchtodo 10y ago
  The problem is this "sharing economy" facade. You have a right to pick and choose who you want in your home, even if you don't like LGBT folks, African Americans, caucassions, whatever. But the sharing economy isn't about sharing. It's about business platforms that monetize slack capacity of different resources. So you're operating a business now (yes, really). And a business can't discriminate against a protected class. And AirBnB wants to portray an aura of community, so instead of saying "you can't legally discriminate; don't or we'll kick you off the platform" it's the proverbial "can we not all get along?; you must to continue on the platform" Everyone will agree to this except a few folks who want to make a point, and those people who were discriminating before will continue to do so. Silicon Valley needs to learn that scolding, lynching, patronizing people online isn't going to fix systemic socioeconomic issues. Those take decades to show positive change, and require far more effort than the community outreach resources of a few companies in the tech industry. Edit: My comment should've been more specific. In a non-business setting, you can pick and choose who is in your home. Not when renting the entire premises out to someone. AirBnB tries to portray its transactions as community when it's really just a business, with the rules and regs that go with that (anti-discrimination).
  - mahyarm 10y ago
    You can legally discriminate in some categories in shared living situations in many places although. You can legally say you want only female or male roommates, or no couples and so on. And you can do it for money, it doesn't matter if your renting or own the place. If you are renting a place outright, then you cannot. So in that aspect you are allowed to do that.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - eli 10y ago
      What percentage of airbnb rentals are roommates vs short term subletters?
    - Pinckney 10y ago
      Right, but how many people actually rent their own residence on Airbnb?
      - jacquesm 10y ago
        Everybody, and only for a few days per year ;)
  - onewaystreet 10y ago
    > You have a right to pick and choose who you want in your home You don't if you are renting your home. Whether Airbnb hosts legally classify as renters is something that each state is dealing with. Airbnb is choosing to get ahead of the issue by adding this requirement.
- lucaspiller 10y ago
  > I've personally experienced that some hosts refuse to rent to unmarried couples. In a lot of cases this is due to the host's religious beliefs. In that case, who is discriminating against who?
- eli 10y ago
  Uh, where I live in DC marital status is a protected class for housing. You can't require a couple be married.
- JBReefer 10y ago
  The Episcopal Church made my parents get gay married or they'd fire them for having a long term live in significant other and children out of wedlock. The future is funny. That might be considered discrimination?
marincounty 10y ago
I wouldn't worry. The weirdo crust punk most likely has no money. They are used to being stereotyped, and told No. Just be careful when steping over them while they are sleeping on your sidewalk. Tell little Jenny, "It's o.k. to spit on them while they're sleeping. They're just weirdos."
gaius 10y ago
What if I don't want rent to some weirdo crust punk? The actual answer is, it depends entirely on their membership of protected classes - and if they are a member of such a class, then that fact that your discrimination against them was on grounds of weirdness, crustiness, or punkiness, won't protect you from accusations of racism or whatever.

angrow 10y ago

What makes you think this would be against the agreement? Is crust a religion? An disability? "Dirty" isn't a protected class. I've personally experienced that some hosts refuse to rent to unmarried couples. It was inconvenient and silly, but perfectly legal and nearly harmless (unless their actual problem was that only one of us was white, but who can say).

toomuchtodo 10y ago
The problem is this "sharing economy" facade. You have a right to pick and choose who you want in your home, even if you don't like LGBT folks, African Americans, caucassions, whatever. But the sharing economy isn't about sharing. It's about business platforms that monetize slack capacity of different resources. So you're operating a business now (yes, really). And a business can't discriminate against a protected class. And AirBnB wants to portray an aura of community, so instead of saying "you can't legally discriminate; don't or we'll kick you off the platform" it's the proverbial "can we not all get along?; you must to continue on the platform" Everyone will agree to this except a few folks who want to make a point, and those people who were discriminating before will continue to do so. Silicon Valley needs to learn that scolding, lynching, patronizing people online isn't going to fix systemic socioeconomic issues. Those take decades to show positive change, and require far more effort than the community outreach resources of a few companies in the tech industry. Edit: My comment should've been more specific. In a non-business setting, you can pick and choose who is in your home. Not when renting the entire premises out to someone. AirBnB tries to portray its transactions as community when it's really just a business, with the rules and regs that go with that (anti-discrimination).
- mahyarm 10y ago
  You can legally discriminate in some categories in shared living situations in many places although. You can legally say you want only female or male roommates, or no couples and so on. And you can do it for money, it doesn't matter if your renting or own the place. If you are renting a place outright, then you cannot. So in that aspect you are allowed to do that.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - eli 10y ago
    What percentage of airbnb rentals are roommates vs short term subletters?
  - Pinckney 10y ago
    Right, but how many people actually rent their own residence on Airbnb?
    - jacquesm 10y ago
      Everybody, and only for a few days per year ;)
- onewaystreet 10y ago
  > You have a right to pick and choose who you want in your home You don't if you are renting your home. Whether Airbnb hosts legally classify as renters is something that each state is dealing with. Airbnb is choosing to get ahead of the issue by adding this requirement.
lucaspiller 10y ago
> I've personally experienced that some hosts refuse to rent to unmarried couples. In a lot of cases this is due to the host's religious beliefs. In that case, who is discriminating against who?
eli 10y ago
Uh, where I live in DC marital status is a protected class for housing. You can't require a couple be married.
JBReefer 10y ago
The Episcopal Church made my parents get gay married or they'd fire them for having a long term live in significant other and children out of wedlock. The future is funny. That might be considered discrimination?

marincounty 10y ago

I wouldn't worry. The weirdo crust punk most likely has no money. They are used to being stereotyped, and told No. Just be careful when steping over them while they are sleeping on your sidewalk. Tell little Jenny, "It's o.k. to spit on them while they're sleeping. They're just weirdos."

gaius 10y ago

What if I don't want rent to some weirdo crust punk? The actual answer is, it depends entirely on their membership of protected classes - and if they are a member of such a class, then that fact that your discrimination against them was on grounds of weirdness, crustiness, or punkiness, won't protect you from accusations of racism or whatever.