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Airbnb Hosts More Likely To Reject Guests With Disabilities, Study Finds (theguardian.com)
A study by Rutgers University has found that travelers with disabilities using the travel hosting service Airbnb are more likely to be rejected and less likely to be pre-approved. From a report: A Rutgers University study of nearly 4,000 requests for lodging on the home-sharing platform found that guests with blindness, cerebral palsy, dwarfism and spinal cord injury were refused at rates higher than people without disabilities. In some instances, hosts who claimed that their homes were accessible were also more likely to approve guests without disabilities, according to the research published Friday. The report raises new questions about the ethics of Airbnb's business model, following the #AirbnbWhileBlack scandal that dogged the company last year, centered on revelations that African American guests were denied access at disproportionately high rates. While traditional hotels must abide by anti-discrimination laws, startups such as Airbnb have been able to skirt longstanding regulations by arguing that they are technology companies and platforms that aren't liable for the actions of their users.
Businesses should be allowed to turn away customers for any reason. Nobody should be able tomorrow you to do business with someone you don't want to serve. The Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America have the freedom of association and can turn away people they don't want in their organization. Businesses should have the same freedom of association to turn away customers they don't want.
Libertarians might argue that we shouldn't do business with people who are treating others unfairly. But in the same breath don't think we should monitor and report on the toxic behavior of private individuals.
Nice strawman you got there. Would be a shame if someone asked you which libertarians exactly are opposed to individuals talking about the behaviour of other individuals.
My advice is to be an affluent able-bodied white male (straight or passing). That avoid quite a few problems in life, and gives you a little bit of an edge in society.
My advice would be to have a positive attitude, work hard, and stop looking for easy excuses when things don't go your way. Who knows, maybe some day you can change your name to Barack and even get elected president.
Why without accountability? I rent a 400sqrft apartment in Silicone Valley. Every few years I save up for a modest vacation to a neighboring state and leave for a week, during which my apartment sits empty despite me paying rent. Why can I not use an app to rent out that apartment for the week I am gone? I can rent to whomever I please, and discriminate as much as I want. For example, I don't like nlggers and asshats. I know it's wrong and racist, but it is my apartment and my choice. There is perfect accountability - to myself. Let me give you an example. I am a virtual ditch digger, as all Sr. Systems Administrators are. When someone needs windows update run on their laptop, it falls to me. If I am too busy at the moment posting on slashdot about my weight, I ask my coworker to do my job for me. The black guy always says no, because he is an asshat, but the indian guy is mostly willing to help. This is a personal favor they are doing for me, so they are accountable only to themselves - their work, their time, their choice, their accountability.
Most homes aren't handicap accessible. So I imagine hosts with houses with lots of stairs, etc. would have no choice but to turn away some handicapped people. Also, many people might fear that their home might even be dangerous for someone who's blind, deaf, etc. I used to live in a house that had a balcony with a low railing, for example. I sure wouldn't have wanted a blind person out there without someone to warn them.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"That's totally different from refusing service to black people, for example, where the only reason for rejection is racism."
Not quite, since a lot of costs are subjective. Let's try some out:
"I need extra contents insurance since I think you may rob me."
"I need extra life insurance because I think you may murder me."
"I need extra hardware at the property because I think you are sub-standard as a human and require extra assistance".
I've read through a few of the posts in this thread, and unfortunately, they're all terribly disappointing. I do appreciate that most are arguing from an extreme point of view, so as to make some kind of reductio ad absurdum style argument.
However, can we try to regain our humanity?
The reality is that living with a disability or chronic illness can really suck. Living in a society were others discriminate against you for any reason (some of the "legitimate" reasons claimed by the assholes positing in this thread, or otherwise) really sucks.
Philosophers have written that one of the remarkable traits that sets us aside from the rest of the animal kingdom, is the way we care for those in our society who are less able. We care for the weakest, we provide for the poorest, we nurture those that need assistance, and we show compassion to those who we may wish to destroy.
Well, I certainly don't see any of that around here, but perhaps I'm just in the wrong place?