Study Says Booking With Airbnb Harder With African-American Name

Study discovers Airbnb guests with distinctively African-American names have a harder time booking on service than those with white names.

Despite the gains Airbnb has made in the past year, a new study completed by Harvard University professors suggests the home-sharing service has a new problem: racial discrimination. In a working paper published by the research team, the group concludes Airbnb guests with distinctive African-American names are 16 percent less likely to be accepted by their host.

The group completed their research using five major metropolitan areas in the United States with various listings on the Airbnb service, including Baltimore, St. Louis, and Los Angeles. Across the board, the research group discovered that the profiles they created with distinctive African-American names such as “Tamika” and “Darnell” had a harder time securing accommodations than profiles created with distinctively white names, like “Allison” and “Brad.”

“Online marketplaces increasingly choose to reduce the anonymity of buyers and sellers in order to facilitate trust. We demonstrate that this common market design choice results in an important unintended consequence: racial discrimination,” the researchers wrote in their paper. “On the whole, our analysis suggests a need for caution: while information can facilitate transactions, it also facilitates discrimination.”

Speaking to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Airbnb acknowledged the results of the Harvard study. The home-sharing service says they will work with the research team to improve the site.

“We are committed to making Airbnb one of the most open, trusted, diverse, transparent communities in the world,” the company’s spokesperson said. “We recognize that bias and discrimination are significant challenges, and we welcome the opportunity to work with anyone that can help us reduce potential discrimination in the Airbnb community.”

The research marks the second time this year Airbnb has changed its policy due to a situation with its service. Previously, the company agreed to call local emergency services if a guest was in perceived danger after The New York Times detailed the alleged assault of an Airbnb guest abroad.

[Photo: Airbnb]