Airbnb Does The Right Thing In The Worst Way

After listening to the barrage of criticism they received over the years, a Harvard study that revealed the metrics behind discriminatory practices and a subsequent lawsuit, Airbnb is finally taking action. The groundbreaking rental website hired prominent advisers – including former US Attorney General Eric Holder – to help formulate anti-bias policies. This yielded a 32-page blueprint to prevent hosts from discriminating guests based on race, age, gender or other characteristics. The changes will go into effect on November 1 and will include a lot of data scientists and researchers sifting through each host’s behavior and discerning patterns. They are doing the right thing, but using a borderline creepy method. There will be other methods beyond stalking each user’s web history on the site at least. There is even a discussion on potentially accelerating the use of instant bookings, which lets renters book places immediately without host approval.