Airbnb has decided to use its platform as a means of combating racial discrimination and prejudice by outlining plans to change its policies and the booking process itself.
The nature of Airbnb is such that discrimination could be catastrophic for guests and hosts alike. On one hand, it makes perfect sense that a host – someone renting out space that they have to own and maintain personally – would want to be sure they're dealing with a reliable tenant. On the other, that vetting process can't be steeped in racism or other forms of discrimination because that then creates a platform that only services one demographic. It shouldn't be more difficult to book a place of lodging because of skin color and, simultaneously, hosts shouldn't have to worry about racial bias impacting their opportunities to make money on the platform. Frankly, discrimination also hurts Airbnb's bottom line.
Per an announcement on the company's blog, Airbnb's goal is to foster a less discriminatory relationship between hosts and potential guests by removing the avenues upon which racial biases can make an impact. The process is called "Project Lighthouse" and it kicks off June 30. Airbnb says the goal of the project is to " uncover, measure, and overcome discrimination when booking or hosting on Airbnb". The plan involves researching how information like people's user names and profile pictures can lead to biased decisions and to monitor whether upcoming policy changes impact user interactions. Airbnb isn't explicit in its description of what exact data it will use to make these deductions, but it mentions working with civil rights organizations to help.
Airbnb's Comments on Privacy
As this is basically an investigation into whether or not some hosts or guests are racist, it's important to proceed without explicitly accusing Airbnb members of being bad people. Additionally, since Project Lighthouse is an opt-out system, there are understandable concerns about what sorts of user data they'll be using and sharing with these third-party, racial equality groups.
Airbnb says it will use profile pictures and first names to "help us understand the race that someone might associate" but it also promises to keep that information separate from profiles and accounts. The goal is to analyze trends on a large scale, so it's important to them to look at potential avenues for bias based on those factors. Airbnb users can also opt-out of this whole process if they desire.
All of this seems to hinge on one important line from the post: "we don’t currently have a way to measure larger trends and patterns related to discrimination that might be happening across Airbnb". Thinking about that, it's clear why the company would launch a project like this. Handling instances of racial bias on a per-case scale is good, but it's also reactionary, which means it's also a form of enablement. By observing patterns and making decisions based on trends, Airbnb stands a chance at mitigating these kinds of problems before they occur, instead of handling them when it's already too late.
Source: Airbnb