We are not the type of bloggers that care much about trending hashtags on twitter but #AirbnbWhileBlack caught our attention. In case you are not familiar with it, it’s a hashtag used by black travelers who have been discriminated against while using Airbnb.
Though we have never had any issues getting a rental on Airbnb, we do sympathize with our fellow black travelers. It’s actually disheartening to hear that there are hosts on Airbnb that are open minded enough to let strangers in their home yet so closed minded, that they deny people a place to stay because of the color of their skin.
However, it’s not so much about the issue rather it’s about finding the reason behind the issue and creating a solution. Don’t get us wrong, we love that people are now voicing their complaints and issues with hosts on Airbnb but what’s next? What’s the answer to #AirbnbWhileBlack?
Rohan Gilkes, a fellow black travelers who too had a bad experience with Airbnb decided to not only share his experience with the world but take matters into his own hands. And the result was the creation of Innclusive (formerly known as Noirebnb).
Innclusive is an alternative lodging service that hopes to put an end to #AirbnbWhileBlack. It’s a platform for not only individuals who have felt discriminated against on Airbnb but for travelers in general, regardless of their race. Gilkes wants everyone to be welcomed and allowed to be themselves wherever they go.
So you might be wondering how will Innclusive be any different from Airbnb or stop hosts from discriminating against black users? Well for one thing, hosts won’t be able to lie about the dates not being available. According to Gilkes, “if a hosts denies a request for a date range, then the rental will not be available for that date range for anyone.”
Another way Innclusive plans to to cut down on discrimination is by not showing the user’s profile picture to the host until after the booking has been confirmed, thus eliminating the opportunity for host to disfavor against any traveler.
With that being said, we are confident that Innclusive will be a great alternative for travelers who feel the most marginalized on Airbnb.
Innclusive is scheduled to launch sometime in the summer and we are looking forward to giving it a try ourselves.
So I guess the only thing left to ask is why #AirbnbWhileBlack when you can be #Innclusive.
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