Complaints of racism on Airbnb inspires new sites Innclusive and Noirbnb

Accusations that Airbnb has been ignoring complaints of racism have led black entrepreneurs to create new vacation rental websites.

Megan Arellano

Jul. 22, 2016, 6:01 a.m.

Accusations that Airbnb has been ignoring complaints of racism have led several black entrepreneurs to create two new vacation rental websites where they say racism will not be tolerated.

The new sites, Innclusive.com and Noirbnb.com, say they are enrolling hosts around the country and the world and hope to open their platforms for bookings toward the end of this summer.

The sites are launching after months of allegations from travelers who say they’ve been rejected by Airbnb hosts because they are black. Many have posted their experiences on Twitter with the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack.

Among the stories that have made headlines was Gregory Selden’s. He was rejected for a stay in a property that later accepted him when he used a fake profile for a white man requesting the same dates. Selden has since filed suit against Airbnb. Another case got attention in June when Airbnb removed a host in North Carolina who purportedly used a racial slur to reject a booking by a black woman.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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