Airbnb CSR Audit

The Trust Currency Lucas Brukta - Mikayla Koo - Hanna Steingrimsdottir

Contents 5 6 8 9 13 19 23 25 27 29

who we are our framework why Airbnb brand study negative impact case studies trusting airbnb our opportunity area quotes sources

hello.

who we are before we begin, we felt our first task is to define ourselves and proceed within that frame of mind

With new economies such as the sharing economy or behavioural economy emerging, companies engaging in disruptive services are immediately held at a standard of corporate transparency, positive media image and corporate social responsibility to remain successful in these new markets.

Recognizing weaknesses within their CSR also invests in an upcoming consumer demographic who not only engage with corporations who address cultural and social issues but are willing to pay for these sustainable business practices. CSR is also good for the company as it often leads to an increase in business and revenue, employee engagement and improving their public image while furthering branding.

Our aim is to ďŹ nding an opportunity within an existing company participating in these areas who can improve in their CSR to propel their company toward a more successful and socially sustainable future.

medical

accessibility

food transportation property law regulations

resources accountability permission & licenses

safety

quality of

privacy

digital discrimination

hum

legal

civil

political

organization & governance

security

Our Fram

justice system tax employeement liability

economical

regulation local business housing market inflation

affordability

g

wealth distribution markets

kn p

disruption

being good life

healthy people

human sustainability

generation

man gender

tragedy of the commons ecological awareness & responsibility

identity local

equity

community

culture

discriminational bias

culture exportation

global

unique experience

mework

trust

responsibility

engagement

belonging

respect

social

gift economy

live like local

emotional sustainability

sharing economy

sharing your home

networked hospitality

nowledge trust economy platform branding image transparency

transaction based on trust

why Airbnb perhaps Airbnb is one of the most disruptive innovation - inc.com

We chose Airbnb for its undeniable impact on global scale mission to establish the social sustainability.

Airbnb is the leading market that fuels globalization. It’s one of the most connected digital platform that creates relationships based on trust.

Through the analysis of Airbnb’s impacts and potential, we want to design a more socially sustainable future and make meaningful experience for millions of users.

“belong anywhere.�

- Airbnb Mission Statement

65,000 + cities

$1B Revenue

191 countries

history of Airbnb one of the pioneers of the sharing economy

Airbnb, a platform for short term, cost-effective accommodations for travellers, is known as one of the pioneers of the sharing economy.

The online, community based platform orchestrates transactions and bookings between hosts and guests to provide unique ‘local’ travel experiences at a lower price to their hotel competitor.

The founder, Brian Chesky, recognized early on the importance and difficulty of bridging trust between users to successfully coordinate the sharing of property and goods however implemented various systems to instil confidence between users for a more comfortable experience.

The sharing economy is partly successful because of its ability to instantly meet demand when needed, in instances of special events in cities, and allows hosts to offer their homes during peak times for financial gain with an equally beneficial opportunity for the guest.

Timeline of Airbnb

from the beginning

Incubated by the Y Combinator & received $20,000 funding

2007 Idea Creation

2008 Launched AirBedAnd Breakfast .com

2009 Website name becomes airbnb.com

Funding of $7.2 M

2010

2011 Reach 1 Millionth booking mark

Funding of $112 M

2012 Reaches 5 Millionth booking mark

Reaches 10 lionth book mark

Funding of $475 M

0 Milking

2014 Announces that its home cleaning trial will be in three cities

Sues New York City over a new legislation that make illegal for Airbnb to display housing units that cannot be rented legally

Received funding of $1.5 Billion

2015

Start to collect tourist tax in some cities of U.S & Europe

San Francisco vote “No� to restrict Airbnb rentals in the city

2016

Sues San Francisco over a new law that would require Airbnb to verify that their hosts are registered with the city

2017

Airbnb launches the "experiences" feature in the Airbnb app

hosts limiting accessibility

no hazard awareness accidents

security problems

breakage

decision based on digital profiling

loose tax patrol

discrim due to di

reservation cancellation Airbnb’s loose regulation

housing & property law no responsibility for Airbnb

racial bias

prone to breaking the law squatting

civil

legal issues

lack of accountability property damage

Negative

less tax contribution

less economic prosperity

city for tourists

forced to move

hotels

destabilization of local business

loss of housing

less of community

rising cost of living

hum

rent for students

disrupt post-secondary school

inflation

economical

local & global disruption

traged com restaurants

move away from cultural centre & activities

mination isruption

ecological disruption

increased tourism

lack of knowledge biological spread

selling experiences

man

culture

taking cultural activities

cultural exploitation

#we accept campaign

social washing

misleading branding

invasive species

liability based on the brand

e Impact

social

exclusionary

peer to peer

so-called trust with users lack of sharing economy transparency

liability

dy of the mmons monopolies

no opportunities for local competition

tax issues

hosts limiting accessibility

no hazard awareness accidents

security problems

breakage

decision based on digital profiling

loose tax patrol

discrim due to di

reservation cancellation Airbnb’s loose regulation

housing & property law no responsibility for Airbnb

racial bias

prone to breaking the law squatting

civil

legal issues

lack of accountability property damage

Negative

less tax contribution

less economic prosperity

city for tourists

forced to move

hotels

destabilization of local business

loss of housing

less of community

rising cost of living

hum

rent for students

disrupt post-secondary school

inflation

economical

local & global disruption

traged com restaurants

move away from cultural centre & activities

mination isruption

ecological disruption

increased tourism

lack of knowledge biological spread

selling experiences

man

culture

taking cultural activities

cultural exploitation

#we accept campaign

social washing

misleading branding

invasive species

liability based on the brand

e Impact

social

exclusionary

peer to peer

so-called trust with users lack of sharing economy transparency

liability

dy of the mmons monopolies

no opportunities for local competition

tax issues

case studies

No Support from Airbnb In the case of one L.A. Airbnb host, guests in her apartment clogged and flooded the toilet of the apartment, resulting in damage amounting to $10,000. In the aftermath of this, the host received no support from Airbnb, instead finding her claim repeatedly denied. Though the company has a “Host Guarantee� that promises up to $1 million in the event of damage, Airbnb has been notorious for denying or avoiding claims placed through their system. The company sets in place strict regulation regarding their guarantee, a move made deliberately to limit and prevent claims placed in their system.

Hazard Issues Airbnb sets no safety requirements or expectations on the hosts renting out their spaces through the platform. Instead Airbnb has been strategic in attempting to maintain their neutrality in the matter, remaining distant issues that arrive. This refusal by Airbnb to accept responsibility for their guests safety has resulted in several instances of harm, and, in the most extreme cases, death.

Forced out of the City zone - Rising cost of living Originally intended as a platform to supplement one’s income by renting out your own personal space, Airbnb has developed its own industry of land managers. With managers being responsible for possibly dozens of spaces continuously available for rent over the platform. The profitability of Airbnb has resulted in landlords prioritizing short term rentals over traditional tenants. With some landlords going as far as to evict current tenants in favor of Airbnb. This has contributed to rising rental prices in city centers, and forced people, especially lower income individuals, further out of the city core.

Tragedy of the Commons A concept derived from Garret Hardin’s 1968 article “The Tragedy of the Commons,” the idea states that without regulation and ownership over a resource, individuals have a tendency to abuse a resource. A problem found within the growing “sharing economy,” users begin to abuse and take advantage of resources for which they do not feel a sense of ownership.

Misleading Branding - Social Washing In the wake of several publicized incidents of discrimination through the platform, Airbnb has launched a campaign attempting to promote equality and distance their brand from these incidents. However, the #weaccept campaign fails to address the issue, instead acting as a cover for the company. The campaign promotes the acceptance of refugees and attempts to provide free temporary housing for refugees in need. While a noble cause, the campaign fails to address the issue of discriminatory hosts on their platform, instead just deflecting the issue and directing the conversation away from the users of their platform.

Racial Bias / Discrimination Online transactions facilitated through profiles featuring photos and bios typically lends itself to an increase in trust between users, however it equally allows for discrimination based on the host or guest’s race, age, gender or appearance. Airbnb has been noticed to charge 12% more for non black’s listings compared to black host’s despite being in similar rent gaps. This has led to a competitor site “Innclusion” using a similar platform to Airbnb but prides itself on inclusion. Airbnb is not liable for any discrimination that occurs on their platform.

trusting Airbnb

Peer to Peer Trust Looking into Airbnb’s current methods of gaining peer to peer trust

Airbnb acknowledges their platform is dependent on trust between hosts and guests for a successful experience. They have implemented a system through machine learning, risk assessment, secure platforms and a multi layer defence strategy to minimize any misrepresentation or misbehaviour between hosts and guests.

However, their methods are only relevant before a guest arrives at their host’s home. From the point of arrival, Airbnb relinquishes all responsibility onto the host placing the onus of all negative repercussions onto the host with little to no support from the company is the stay.

guests

factors

impacts

misleading listings safety concerns

loss of deposit personal harm

discrimination poor environment

users bad guests hosts squatters

city

hotel industry more tourists

non-users

citizens

rentals are less profitable more tourists

social harm uncomfort while staying loss of income property damage loss of housing legal fees rising housing rates tax avoidance overlading infrastructure increased cost of living forced out of the city zone rising crime rates move away from cultural centres

results no support from Airbnb stop using Airbnb slander Airbnb on social media no support from Airbnb stop using Aibnb slander Airbnb on social media banning Airbnb restrict/ legislate the sharing economy no support from Airbnb slander Airbnb on social media

New Opportunity Guests are the core of Airbnb. Even a single bad experience, like misleading listings, can taint their perception of the platform and lose trust of the company. By strenghtening their customer support and establishing full-proof verifications of listings, Airbnb can engage with users to continuously maintain trust between Airbnb citizens. Through the creation of a new verfication program and standard, designers can strengthen the required network of trust upon which Airbnb is built.

factors robust customer serivce guests

environment verification

more transparency

impacts host & brand accountability service expansion

results steward of trust engaged with users

As communities become more trusting, they also become more durable -Airbnb Engineers

What makes all of that possible? Trust.

- Airbnb

One ongoing challenge for us is to concretely measure trust.

-Airbnb Engineers

Thank you.

Sources Brand Study Airbnbcitizen.com. (2018). How Airbnb Works. [online] Available at: https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/how-airbnb-works/ Blog.atairbnb.com. (2018). Belong Anywhere. [online] Available at: https://blog.atairbnb.com/belong-anywhere/.

DMR. (2018). 100 Amazing Airbnb Statistics. [online] Available at: https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/airbnb-statistics/.

Inc.com. (2018). Why Airbnb Is Disruptive Innovation and Uber Is Not. [online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/dave-bailey/why-airbnb-is-disruptive-innovation-and-uber-is-not.html.

Majdal Sobeh, Author at Investment Property Tips | Mashvisor Real Estate Blog, May 2017, mashvisor.com/blog/author/sobohmajdalgmail-com/ Medium. (2018). Building for Trust – Airbnb Engineering & Data Science – Medium. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/building-for-trust-503e9872bbbb Case Studies Bort, Julie. “Airbnb Banned From Condo Complex After Guest Caused $10,000 Of Damage.” Business Insider, 9 Oct. 2014, www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-guest-caused-10000-of-damage-2014-10.

Hardin, G. 1968. “The Tragedy of the Commons”. Science 162: 1243-1248 (1968).

Nate, Brian Joe. “#weaccept.” Airbnb, 5 Feb. 2017, www.airbnb.ca/weaccept?locale=en.

Rohan Gilkes “I’m a black man. Here is what happened when I tried to book on Airbnb.”,Medium, Matter, May 26, 2016, medium.com/stay-woke/i-read-about-this-phenomenon-of-black-people-being-rejected-on-airbnb-f36dd3ab0375 Stone, Zak. “Living and Dying on Airbnb.” Medium, Matter, 8 Nov. 2015, medium.com/matter/living-and-dying-on-airbnb-6bff8d600c04.

Warren, May. “Toronto man says landlord evicting him to rent unit on Airbnb.” Toronto Metro, MetroNews Canada, 27 Sept. 2016, www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2016/09/27/toronto-man-says-landlord-evicting-him-to-rent-on-airbnb.html.

Here’s the Issuu Link: https://issuu.com/musicsharebyme/docs/airbnb_map_4