Study suggests Airbnb hosts are unfair to people with disabilities
There are some limitations to the study, however. First, they did not take instant booking into account, which Airbnb says accounts for 60 percent of their reservations. And the study only used white male profiles, meaning compounding factors of race and gender weren't measured. Finally, the study has not yet been submitted to a journal and subjected to peer review. Mason Ameri, one of the researchers on the project, told Engadget via email that the study is a working paper and they plan to submit to a journal in the near future. Douglas Kruse, another author of the paper, added that several colleagues at Harvard and Rutgers have reviewed the current version.
The researchers provide several suggestions for Airbnb to consider including enforcing Americans with Disabilities Act standards with hosts listing wheelchair-accessible units, cultivating partnerships with disability-focused organizations, and making sure hosts adhere to the company's new nondiscrimination policy.
In a statement, Airbnb said they've already been working on a number of the issues brought up in the study and added, "Our work is ongoing and we will continue to work with everyone who shares our goal of making the Airbnb community more open and accessible.
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For more on this story go to; https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/02/study-airbnb-hosts-unfair-disabilities/
Published July 4, 2017
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