Airbnb is a world wide home-rental service worth about $30 billion, with more than three million listings. The popularity of the company comes with the rise of the sharing economy which has greatly decreased costs for consumers. Although many traveler’s stays have been made easier and cheaper through the use of Airbnb, a large amount of disabled customers have been left dissatisfied.
A six-month study conducted by Rutgers University based on more than 3,800 Airbnb lodging requests exemplifies the difficulties and discrimination that disabled travelers face. These travelers were far more likely to be rejected and less likely to receive pre-approval to stay in a home. Travelers without disabilities were pre-approved 75 percent of the time. Travelers with dwarfism were only pre-approved 61 percent of the time, 50 percent for those with blindness, 43 percent for those with cerebral palsy, and 25 percent for those with spinal cord injuries.
Researchers have offered explanations for these low pre-approved numbers by explaining that hosts followed up with questions for disabled travelers on how they could better accommodate guests. These questions would prevent travelers with disabled from being labeled as pre-approved. Some hosts rejected the travelers with little explanation and a few made rude remarks.
However, many of the rejections were not due to the personal prejudice of hosts, but rather to the inaccessibility of the home. These hosts asked how they could better accommodate a guest and if the changes could not be made, many referred the traveler to a space that might be better suited for their needs.
On certain forms of lodging like the hotel industry, people with disabilities are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, this act does not apply to many Airbnb listings which are usually the residences of homeowners. Mason Ameri, one of the authors of the study done by Rutgers University, says, “if we’re entering an era where these new types of hotels, which are essentially private homes, can’t offer accommodations, it defeats and undoes all of the progress we’ve made with the A.D.A. as far as equal access is concerned.” Another one of the studies authors, Lisa Schur, says, “platforms like Airbnb seem to be perpetuating or increasing opportunities for exclusion, both economic and social.” In order for Airbnb to stay true to its travelers, the company needs to enforce strict guidelines to make sure that listings that claim to be handicapped accessible are actually handicapped accessible.
In response to this, Airbnb issued a non-discrimination policy in September. The company delivered a statement saying, “discrimination of any kind on the Airbnb platform, including on the basis of ability, is abhorrent, a violation of our anti-discrimination policy and will result in permanent removal from our platform.” The company also issued a statement assuring those who had been discriminated against that they would have a place to stay.
The study done was conducted between the months of June and November, so it was able to track rejections after the nondiscrimination policy was put into place in September. The study found that the policy had little effect on the number of rejections and that some hosts violated the policy by rejecting or charging extra for assistance animals. However, the authors are hopeful and claim that the number of rejections might decrease over time as hosts become more familiar with the newly implemented policy.
Airbnb has teamed up with several disability organizations and is continually working to better educate hosts on how to accommodate guests with disabilities. The company also expects to release new features to their site this summer which will include new accessibility listings and filters. While Airbnb works on improving its service to those with disabilities, other companies like Accomable have been created by and for travelers with disabilities with listing in 60 countries.
Featured Image via Flickr/opengridscheduler
