Story time:

My partner Megan and I recently experienced discrimination from an Airbnb in Canmore, Alberta. They 'so simply' said "NO LGBT".

I have tried connecting with Airbnb on the matter via email (multiple times) as well as through their 'flag' feature; where you flag a message from a host or a stay and state your case essentially. I haven't heard back from their customer support team, anyone from Airbnb, nor did I receive an internal message suggesting my 'issue' is being dealt with. I even went so far as to 'Google' how to contact them directly and found the CEO's email address. Let's just say, I'm not overly surprised Brian Chesky didn't get back to me. My email to Brian and Aisling can be read below, which describes in detail the features I think should be implemented in creating a more LGBTQ+ friendly experience. After all...LGBTQ+ folks on average are more likely to spend cash on excursions and travel. There are even studies/stats online, showing that LGBTQ+ folks pay more for travel, tourism and accommodations more than your pal Karen across the street.

Because there is no clear indication of places/stays being LGBTQ+ friendly, we like to ensure by asking - not only does this ensure that our stay will be safe, it also means we're accepted at the place we're staying at. However, this makes it so much more time consuming for us than any cis/straight person. We put in 10x more brain capacity and mental work into something as simple as finding a place to stay when travelling. And really...we'd just like it to be easy.

My email below describes the features and information in detail:

Good Afternoon Aisling, 

I'm connecting with you today as an AirBnb guest who happens to know a lil bit about user experience. In my professional job, I am a graphic, web and ux/ui designer; I find myself often thinking about people's experiences other than my own when using a platform. I wanted to whisk my girlfriend away to the mountains on her Birthday and we found ourselves experiencing discrimination against anyone within the LGBTQIA2S+ community via a local AirBnb.

Now, i'm not here to tell you that I want this place shut down, that is not what this email is about. I'm proposing a feature where a host can 'check mark' if they are an LGBTQ+ friendly AirBnb. Not only does this eliminate the awkward factor (not to mention time consuming factor for us queer folks) of asking if they're LGBT+ friendly - it also allows us queer folks to feel recognized and safe to stay in places - especially if those specific places have others (the hosts) on premises. 

So with this being said, If I were to become a host one day (which is likely as I own property of my own), I would love people to automatically know, and for this to be a 'searchable' feature; Meaning my partner and I can select this in our search, similarly to selecting 'price range' and only be shown places that identify themselves as LGBTQ+ friendly.

To add to my last point about having our community searchable, when I simply search "LGBTQ+ friendly Canmore" for example, I don't receive very many searches, I assume that would be directly correlated with the fact that the hosts themselves have taken the time to enter this into their 'title' or 'description' of stay. Without this, there would be no way of knowing whether someone is accepting of us gays, queers and theys unless we ask.

I hope this email finds you well,
If you're looking at connecting with me directly, my information is below.

Concerned Queer (for the community)
-Sunny Voitsekhovsky