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Study: Airbnb Hosts Are Likely to Deny Those With Disabilities
Jesse Tabit June 06, 2017
A new study from researchers at Rutgers University, home-sharing company Airbnb hosts are “more likely to reject people with disabilities.” The conclusion is based on requests from 3,800 guests. Hosts reportedly pre-approved 75 percent of those who did not claim they have a disability, but, by contrast, 61 percent were pre-approved when they mentioned they had dwarfism. Furthermore, 50 percent of guests who claimed they were blind were approved and only 25 percent for those who said they were stricken with a spine injury.
According to Aol, “physical inaccessibility was a factor” rather than discrimination could be a primary factor in the hosts’ decision.
For more information on this story, visit Aol.
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It's just not people with physical mobility disabilities that AirBnB hosts deny. Other disabilities make host uncomfortable and wary to rent to those individuals also. We have been declined by hosts as a result. My wife is immunosuppressed because of organ transplantation and requires a specific level of clean, scent free, and pet hair free accommodations. When contacting hosts to inquire about our special needs, (which should be standard for ALL accommodations, hotels included IMO), two things happen, one, they lie because they want the rental, and two, they deny us the booking because truthfully they are wary of what they perceive as a liability or they don't want to go to the extra trouble of cleaning with plain water and removing scented materials like smelly "plugins", candles, soaps, etc.. We do also sometimes get amazing hosts that are very accommodating to our special needs which is totally welcome. I always say, "no scents makes good sense", and "clean does not smell".
Airbnb can remedy this by providing information of the listing is friendly to those with disabilities.
The fact of the matter is that AirBnB is a source to rent out your room or house to another. THEY ARE NOT ADA COMPLIANT. If you are handicapped, it is up to you to get in the building. Our room in Paris was amazing, once you climbed the six flights of ridiculously steep/narrow stairs. Did I complain? Heck no. It's Paris...a place with lots of old buildings...and I was saving a bundle by staying there vs the Hilton Paris Opera or otherwise. The same comments could be made to overweight or above average in height people on airplanes. If you know you are really overweight or way too tall for economy...don't buy economy, you are asking for a disaster.
I was recently rejected for an AirBNB stay with my elderly mom by a host in Santa Barbara, due to a significant flight of stairs that was not otherwise noticeable in the listing. Frankly, I had no problem with this, as the stairs would have been an issue for my mom. But one thing I've noticed is that most AirBNB listings really don't provide much useful information about the degree of difficulty of access via stairs or walkways. That information would certainly be appreciated by those to whom it's a significant issue.