Airbnb

Airbnb is an American company that operates an online marketplace for short—and long-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. Airbnb is a direct target for boycott.

Isreal and Apartheid

Airbnb offers listings of accommodation in illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian and Syrian land in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights. The company was included in the UN Database of businesses engaged in activities related to the Israeli settlements. This database was created following an independent international fact-finding mission, which aimed to investigate the impact of these settlements on the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Despite the publication of this report in February 2020, Airbnb has continued its operations and continues to benefit from activities in these occupied territories to this day.

Airbnb Publicly Affirms Support for Israel

Airbnb publicly affirmed its support for Israel after being pressured to allow listings in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. This pressure was partially due to a 2018 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, which concluded that:

The business activity that Airbnb and Booking.com conduct helps make West Bank settlements more profitable and therefore sustainable, thus facilitating Israel’s unlawful transfer of its citizens to the settlements. In many cases, the companies list the properties as being located inside Israel, thereby misleading guests about where they will be staying and obscuring the fact that their payments are benefitting the settlement enterprise. [...] Israeli settlements in the West Bank are the only example in the world today that Human Rights Watch and Kerem Navot found in which Airbnb hosts would be mandated by law to discriminate against guests based on national or ethnic origin.

In November 2018, Airbnb announced that despite their "conflicting views regarding whether companies should be doing business in the occupied territories" and their inability to decide between what they are "allowed" to do and what the global community is condemning them for doing, they stated:

US law permits [...] Airbnb to engage in business in these [occupied] territories. [...] the global community have stated that companies [...] should not profit on lands where people have been displaced. Others [?] believe that companies should not withdraw business operations from these areas.

They decided that they would remove approximately 200 listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. However, they made sure that it's obvious that they still support the state of Israel and that they don't support boycotting it or social movements like the BDS.

Airbnb is not boycotting Israel. Airbnb does not support the BDS movement, any boycott of Israel, or any boycott of Israeli companies. Our announcement affects approximately 200 listings in the West Bank and major US-based multinational hotel chains also do not offer accommodations in these areas. To be clear, our announcement does not apply to more than 20,000 listings in Israel — including in Jerusalem and Golan Heights — and hosts continue to share their places with travelers.

Despite East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights being internationally recognized as occupied territories and any settlements within them being illegal under international law, Airbnb decided to continue to allow listings in them.

Soon after, affected settlers in the occupied West Bank filed lawsuits against Airbnb in both Israel and the United States, alleging discrimination based on place of residence. In April 2019, the company reversed its plans to remove listings in the West Bank. In its announcement, Airbnb stated:

Airbnb has always opposed the BDS movement. Airbnb has never boycotted Israel, Israeli businesses, or the more than 20,000 Israeli hosts who are active on the Airbnb platform.

Airbnb claimed it would donate the money generated from the West Bank to people in "different parts of the world." This is despite Airbnb having previously halted all operations in an occupied territory in the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine.

The 2018 Human Rights Watch report concluded that the rental properties listed by Airbnb and Booking.com in the settlements are available to guests under discriminatory conditions. Israeli citizens and residents, holders of Israeli entry visas, and even people of Jewish descent are permitted to enter the settlements. In contrast, Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Palestinians in general are barred from doing so.

When confronted about these policies, Airbnb’s director of global policy stated that the company does not require hosts in Israeli settlements to notify guests that they do not accept those with Palestinian IDs. According to Airbnb, it is the government's role to control access. However, HRW and Kerem Navot argue that Palestinian residents of the West Bank are lawfully present and entitled to special protections under international humanitarian law. The discrimination they face is based on national or ethnic origin.

Airbnb positions itself as a leader in the fight against discrimination, emphasizing its commitment to inclusion and diversity on its website and highlighting its support for nonprofit organizations. Despite this, Airbnb’s nondiscrimination policy permits hosts to discriminate outside the United States and the European Union, where such discrimination is mandated by law or socially customary. Hosts in these regions must communicate any such restrictions clearly and factually. However, HRW did not find any settlement listings that informed prospective guests that Palestinians were not permitted to rent the property. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank represent the only case globally where Airbnb hosts are legally required to discriminate based on national or ethnic origin. HRW and Kerem Navot suggest that Airbnb should use its influence to combat such discriminatory laws and, where compliance with nondiscrimination is impossible, disallow listings in those areas to uphold its human rights responsibilities.

Airbnb Suspends User Account For Refusing To Allow A Zionist To Stay

In July 2024, Airbnb suspended a user's account for declining to host an Israeli Zionist in her home in Oxford. Ironically, Airbnb cited their guidelines against "discrimination" as the reason for suspending the account. This raises the question of why these guidelines are not applied when it comes to Palestinians in their homes in the West Bank.

The Israeli lecturer Darya Moaz publicly shared the private messages between her and the host on her social media.

Private messages between hostess and Darya Moaz

Darya then sought the support of the World Zionist Organization and discussed the events on multiple news networks. She later celebrated the help of the Zionist organization, claiming they are combating "anti-Semitism," despite her perpetuating the anti-Semitic trope of conflating Jews and Zionists.

Darya Moaz Facebook post celebrating and thanking the World Zionist Orgnisation

Effects on Housing Affordability

Airbnb has been linked to rising rents and property prices in cities where it operates. While this increase is anticipated due to converting of long-term housing units into short-term rentals, the less expected consequence is the collective displacement of local residents in neighborhoods with a high concentration of Airbnb listings. Furthermore, these areas often grapple with the challenges of gentrification and the loss of community exacerbated by the influx of short-term rentals.

A 2019 study by the Economic Policy Institute in the USA revealed that the costs of Airbnb and similar platforms likely outweigh their benefits. Although Airbnb can slightly reduce travel accommodation costs, this advantage is minor compared to the significant rise in local housing costs due to converting of residential properties into short-term rentals. This shift worsens housing shortages and increases rents, particularly in large cities. Moreover, Airbnb's growth does not significantly boost tourism or local economies, as much of the spending by Airbnb users would have happened through traditional accommodations. Additionally, the platform disproportionately benefits wealthier, predominantly white households and complicates tax collection for cities.

Airbnb Ignoring Local Regulations

New York, USA

In 2014, the New York state attorney general released a report that accused Airbnb of fostering a new breed of "commercial hosts" who monopolize hundreds of apartments and convert them into illegal hotels, depriving regular New Yorkers of housing. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's report highlights that this commercialization allegedly contributes to neighborhood gentrification, tax evasion, and quality-of-life issues. Schneiderman's office, having analyzed Airbnb data, claims that 72% of private listings may be illegal and could be evading $33 million in hotel taxes.

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