Cape Town – Online hospitality service Airbnb has removed the host of a Camps Bay flat from its platform for allegedly discriminating against a potential client.
South African Ziyaad Esack, living and teaching in Saudi Arabia, reported a host named Steven for denying his request for the flat.
Esack posted the exchange between himself and the vendor, where he queries its availability. The vendor responds that “his friends” trashed his property the year before.
When Esack questioned how he could make such an assumption, Steven responds: “Hi, it is very strange for me, that you would like the apartment for similar dates as your friends last year.
"Why do you want to stay in Cape Town for so long during WINTER? It’s freezing here then. Are you going to learn ENGLISH here?
“There were a lot of Mohammeds. I can’t remember every name, as there were ten of them last year and they stayed last year.”
The host said Esack hid behind the “racist card” as he did not get what he wanted at the price he wanted.
Airbnb said: “Discrimination has no place on Airbnb and goes against everything our community stands for.
“We have removed the host from our platform and are providing the guest with support through our Open Doors initiative.”
Under this policy, if a guest is not able to book a listing because they have been discriminated against, Airbnb will ensure the guest finds another place to stay.
Esack said: “I was told they would help me look for another place, offering me $200 (R2746) as a gesture, but I wanted an outcome. I feel bad.
"But you can’t go through life thinking like that. We all make mistakes, let’s just hope he learns from this.”