Airbnb, the homestay network that allows people to rent out their rooms to travellers, has made some changes in its user agreement.
Starting this November, Airbnb users must agree to a non-discrimination commitment that would require them to treat their guests "without judgment or bias" regardless of "sex, gender identity," and "sexual orientation."
The peer-to-peer online marketplace network made this change after receiving a slew of complaints against allegedly "racist" users, according to Life Site News.
In a statement, Airbnb now tells its users: "If you decline the commitment, you won't be able to host or book using Airbnb, and you have the option to cancel your account."
The company says it launched a comprehensive effort to fight bias and discrimination within the Airbnb community earlier this year. "As a result of this effort, we're asking everyone to agree to a Community Commitment beginning November 1, 2016. Agreeing to this commitment will affect your use of Airbnb, so we wanted to give you a heads up about it," Airbnb says.
"You commit to treat everyone — regardless of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age — with respect, and without judgment or bias," it states. "On or after November 1, we'll show you the commitment when you log in to or open the Airbnb website, mobile or tablet app and we'll automatically ask you to accept."
It says the new non-discrimination agreement was drafted with the help of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Last year, Airbnb removed a female host who refused to rent out her home to two men in a relationship. The men, identified as Jonathan Wang and his boyfriend Brent, planned on staying at the woman's Galveston, Texas residence to attend a friend's wedding. The woman said she felt "uncomfortable" lending out her place to gay men, so she asked them to leave, according to the Daily Mail.
