Airbnb: Booking success different because of perceived racial bias

Airbnb said it has found a meaningful difference in the booking success rate for users who are perceived to be white compared to those who are perceived to be black.

The findings come after the company launched an initiative to uncover and remedy race-based discrimination on its platform.

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Airbnb said it found a notable gap in user experiences in 2021, depending on their apparent racial identity. Users who were perceived to be white had a booking success rate of 94% while users who were thought to be black had a success rate of 91%.

Airbnb says information collected through "Project Lighthouse Initiative" is being used to inform the company's approach to bookings and reviews in an effort to minimize racial discrimination for prospective guests.