"Listings in Disputed Regions" Ok.
"Listings in Disputed Regions" Ok. So are they going to de-list everything in Tibet? Or Yemen? Or Crimea (there's only one, but still)? How about the eastern Ukraine? I'm sure there are many other places in the world with disputed territories and occupations. Are they going to de-list them all? This is where policies like this get the side-eye from me.
Is Airbnb really going to police the entire world? What about indigenous peoples with ongoing land/occupation disputes? Do they count? Come on, guys. This was a business decision because Human Rights Watch is going to make headlines with a negative report about Airbnb doing business in the occupied territories of the West Bank. Specifically, the Jewish settlements that everyone has been trying to stop for years, or that's what it's supposed to selectively be.
Which is convenient, because then they don't have to de-list East Jerusalem, even though it is technically part of the occupied territories.
Anyway, their whole argument undermines itself in their posting about it. It's entirely about Israel and the Palestinians and nowhere else in the entire world, for one thing. However, if they are assessing safety risks then they better de-list a whole lot more places around the world and they better update that every week as wars, disasters, and conflicts shift. Possibly every day. Are they sure all their listings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are safe from the current Ebola outbreak, for example? That's a real safety risk to guests and hosts.
Are listings contributing to human suffering? Ha, right. They are going to de-list everything in countries with horrible socio-economic inequity. Or places where only those in favor with the ruling party or elite would be allowed to be in a position to participate in Airbnb. Plus, even in the West Bank, tourism dollars and jobs may be providing benefit to the people you are supposedly protecting from suffering.
It all sounds very nice but they basically caved to pressure from one side. Airbnb isn't going to make or break those settlements. The Israeli government and the people who elected it have to decide whether to keep allowing them or remove them.
https://press.airbnb.com/listings-in-disputed-regions/
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/19/669331010/airbnb-plans-to-remove-listings-in-israeli-settlements
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/19/669331010/airbnb-plans-to-remove-listings-in-israeli-settlements
Is Airbnb really going to police the entire world? What about indigenous peoples with ongoing land/occupation disputes? Do they count? Come on, guys. This was a business decision because Human Rights Watch is going to make headlines with a negative report about Airbnb doing business in the occupied territories of the West Bank. Specifically, the Jewish settlements that everyone has been trying to stop for years, or that's what it's supposed to selectively be.
Which is convenient, because then they don't have to de-list East Jerusalem, even though it is technically part of the occupied territories.
Anyway, their whole argument undermines itself in their posting about it. It's entirely about Israel and the Palestinians and nowhere else in the entire world, for one thing. However, if they are assessing safety risks then they better de-list a whole lot more places around the world and they better update that every week as wars, disasters, and conflicts shift. Possibly every day. Are they sure all their listings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are safe from the current Ebola outbreak, for example? That's a real safety risk to guests and hosts.
Are listings contributing to human suffering? Ha, right. They are going to de-list everything in countries with horrible socio-economic inequity. Or places where only those in favor with the ruling party or elite would be allowed to be in a position to participate in Airbnb. Plus, even in the West Bank, tourism dollars and jobs may be providing benefit to the people you are supposedly protecting from suffering.
It all sounds very nice but they basically caved to pressure from one side. Airbnb isn't going to make or break those settlements. The Israeli government and the people who elected it have to decide whether to keep allowing them or remove them.
https://press.airbnb.com/listings-in-disputed-regions/
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/19/669331010/airbnb-plans-to-remove-listings-in-israeli-settlements
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/19/669331010/airbnb-plans-to-remove-listings-in-israeli-settlements
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