Cultural differences

[Aileen17]

Based on my cultural background, it's looked down if I host a man who isn't my relative. Is it legal to give preference to women renters only?

[David-and-Fiona0]

Every country would be different but the adage in this instance would be "your house, your rules" happy hosting. 

[Anne226]

Aileen, I also live in the US and am a single female Airbnb host who shares my living space exclusively with women. 

I comply with Airbnb's Nondiscrimination Policy because I live in the home while hosting, rent a private bedroom, and share living space with my female guests. I note that my rental is for women-only under "House Rules." It is important to post this under House Rules as bookings from guests who do not comply may be canceled. You may view my listing at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12322747

Refer to this excerpt from Airbnb's Nondiscrimination Policy (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnb-s-nondiscrimination-policy--our-commitment-to-inclu...:

Gender Identity

Airbnb does not assign a gender identity to our users. We consider the gender of an individual to be what they identify and/or designate on their user profile.

• Airbnb hosts may not
  • Decline to rent to a guest based on gender unless the host shares living spaces (for example, bathroom, kitchen, or common areas) with the guest.
  • Impose any different terms or conditions based on gender unless the host shares living spaces with the guest.
  • Post any listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any guest on account of gender, unless the host shares living spaces with the guest.

• Airbnb hosts may
  • Make a unit available to guests of the host’s gender and not the other, where the host shares living spaces with the guest.

If you share your living space and are the only host or share hosting duties with another woman, you can list your Airbnb for women travelers. There is no need to explain why as it's your personal preference and you are complying with Airbnb policy. There are many women travelers who prefer to stay with a female host. When I do receive the rare inquiry from a man or couple I offer them a nearby Airbnb listing as an alternative place to stay. They usually have not read my listing and appreciate the referral. 

I hope this helps clarify things for you. Feel free to email me with any questions. Happy Hosting! 🙂

Anne

[Julie_Mike0]

Thank you so much for those details @Anne226! I currently host a private room with my boyfriend, but he may be leaving for work training for a few weeks/months, so I figured I would stop hosting because I would be uncomfortable hosting by myself. I love your descriptions about it being a girls getaway! Really helps to reiterate it's women-only.

[Anne226]

@Julie_Mike0, glad to offer another option! 🙂

Several of my guests asked how they could find other women hosts who rent exclusively to women. I too would like to know as I’m planning to travel solo across the US and prefer to stay with female hosts. Airbnb currently does not offer such a filter or keyword search option.

“Airbnb For Women” is a new Instagram page I created as a possible workaround and way to find women who host to women. Airbnb hosts are turning to Instagram as a way to share photos highlighting guest experiences, connect with their communities, and link viewers back to their Airbnb listing.

When you decide to host to women, you can update your Airbnb listing. Women hosts can follow and be featured on @airbnbforwomen at https://www.instagram.com/airbnbforwomen. I welcome ideas and opportunities for collaboration.

Happy hosting!

Anne

[Julie_Mike0]

I just started following the account so I remember down the road! Thanks again!

[Andrea9]

@Anne226 hi,

I sort of have a female-only listing, meaning that I have no problems whatsoever with hosting a female and their male partner. 

I'm absolutely not against men, but don't want to open up my arms to invite all male speciments of the whole wide world. I don't have IB on, so if a male potential guest inquiry or request slips through, I'll make them aware of my booking situation and depending on the style or explanation on their message (my gut saying this might be okay) I'll have some pertinent questions and see how they react. I've had a couple of guy bookings in the past and they were great! Recently, due to it being extremely low-booking season I took another one after an on-line exchange and have a good gut feeling. In the meantime our follow-up convo regarding something that turned into an avid architecture tips and questions makes me look forward to the visit. Even if only as experiment to see how spot-on my gut feeling is.

But my favorite is female guests, and I've had so many wonderful ones I feel truly blessed.

If my booking  is still 'elligible'  for your Instagram feature page, great! Feel free to sign me on 😄

Andrea's place for females

[Anne226]

@Andrea9, greetings from Cape Cod! Thanks for your reply and shared experiences. I had a nice chat with an Airbnb representative who provided a few examples of why hosts may choose to rent to specific guests. As in @Aileen17's case, religious/cultural norms are different throughout the world and may influence a host's house rules. Some hosts will not rent to unmarried couples. Airbnb respects and encourages hosts and guests to participate in the way that works best for them. If you would like to offer your one room to women and women with partners only, you can state that in your house rules. She stressed clear communication is key. Hosts need to let guests know what to expect and who will be at the house during their stay.

Andrea, I'd like to brainstorm with you a bit about your listing and how to best feature hosts on the Instagram page. I'll send you a message so we can follow up! 🙂

Anne

[Sandra429]

Dear Aileen, 

I would be equally reserved about renting to men and women when the person does not have reviews on their page. I don't think choosing a woman when you are a woman makes you safer. Or viceversa. I have many girl friends who live alone and host male solo travelers who have dozens or hundreds of awesome reviews and I think the reviews are in place so that we can verify as a community that the person who is staying in your place will treat it and treat you with respect and dignity. I have never heard any of those friends of mine say they have had a negative experience when hosting either gender. My personal safety is not affected by the guest's gender, and to be quite honest I have had much nicer, educated and better male solo travelers than girl solo travelers.  I myself find it very hard to believe that sharing your space with a specific gender will make you safer but like someone else said in the post, it's your home, and you must be able to feel comfortable in it. I'm just not sure that the way of thinking you are proposing is in line with the Airbnb community, as a whole.

All the best and happy hosting

[Sandra429]

I simply don't understand what's gender got to do with being OK to host or not. So that means if my husband travels and needs a place to stay you wouldn't host him because he is not with me? That is absurd and totally Anti-Airbnb!

[Andrea9]

@Sandra429

You didn't tag me but you're probably addressing me.

My guest bedroom as well as my own are only separated by tent-like curtains on separate levels. Guest area is accessed through my living space, so it certainly feels like a bit of a more iffy situation with single male travelers. If for example your husband wrote in his message something like " Hi, I 'm coming to town for a conference (or xxxx) and saw you prefer females, but my wife unfortunately won't be able to accompany me. Would that rule me out as guest completely?" or some such message showing he has read the description and not simply  ask if the room is available and is visiting friends, then that would be a game changer to make me feel safer and get the booking.

[Robin129]

Don't forget @Aileen17 's original position, in her culture it is frowned upon for a woman to host a man who isn't a relative. I appreciated @Anne226 's detailed response. 

My question now is whether I violate the terms by not hosting men while my husband is out-of-town? There are periods of time where he is gone for a few weeks at a time. I offer 1 private room in my home. We share a bathroom, livingroom, dining room, and the kitchen, although I prefer guests not cook.

I would not mind a male/female couple, but not an individual male guest. 

[Anne226]

@Robin129, if you decide to host to women-only while your husband is away, it seems you can update your listing and house rules, and adjust your calendar dates to match these new rules. I'd block off all other dates so guests do not book dates when your husband is back home. Another thought... I wonder if you could have a second listing with for women-only rules and dates?  You would block off those dates from your original listing. Hmm. Interesting! Thinking outside the box. 😉

Anne