When most people book a stay at an Airbnb, the last thing they expect to experience is discrimination of any form. Unfortunately for Dyne Suh, a 26-year-old law clerk, she faced racial discrimination when she booked a “mountain cabin in Big Bear, California, for $250 a night from Tami Barker for a skiing weekend with friends.” As a result, “Suh complained to both Airbnb and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH),” and Barker was “fined $5,000 for racial discrimination and will have to take a course in Asian-American studies.”
When most people book a stay at an Airbnb, the last thing they expect to experience is discrimination of any form. Unfortunately for Dyne Suh, a 26-year-old law clerk, she faced racial discrimination when she booked a “mountain cabin in Big Bear, California, for $250 a night from Tami Barker for a skiing weekend with friends.” As a result, “Suh complained to both Airbnb and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH),” and Barker was “fined $5,000 for racial discrimination and will have to take a course in Asian-American studies.”
So what happened, exactly? Well, according to Suh, she had asked her would be host “if she could bring two friends and two dogs, and Barker agreed on the condition Suh pay an extra $50 per night.” However, right before Suh and her friends arrived at the cabin, she received a text message from Barker that read: “I wouldn’t rent it to u if u were the last person on earth,” and “One word says it all. Asian.”
Suh recounted her story in an emotional video posted on YouTube, saying:
“She [Barker] said ‘This is why we have Trump, we can’t have foreigners tell us what to do’ she said that to me. I’m an American citizen, this is my home, I’ve been here since I was three years old. Racism is very much alive. It exists. It can happen to anyone. There’s no balance to racism no matter what class you are, no matter what your education level, no matter if you’re an American citizen, what they see is that I’m Asian, what they see is my race, and this is how we get treated.”
In addition to fining Barker, Airbnb has “banned her from using its services.” But what has Barker said of her actions? Well, her lawyer, Edward Lee, said she was “regretful for her impetuous actions.”
While this is the “first time an Airbnb host has been penalized after California regulators passed an agreement that allows officials to test Airbnb hosts for racial discrimination earlier this year,” it’s not the first time that Airbnb has been “involved with allegations of racism.” For instance, just last year “the platform successfully blocked a proposed class action alleging systemic discrimination by Airbnb hosts, enabled by various design choices made by the company.” In that lawsuit, the plaintiffs “alleged Airbnb’s commercial design disproportionately impacts African-Americans seeking accommodation.”
In an effort to put a stop to the discrimination, “Airbnb implemented a non-discrimination policy” and now require hosts “to agree to its community commitment.”
Sources:
Airbnb host fined $5,000 for canceling a reservation with a racist comment
Airbnb host who canceled reservation using racist comment must pay $5,000
Join the conversation!