Can Airbnb Hosts Discriminate?

The short answer to this is a simple "no", but it's not that simple.

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While Airbnb does have a nondiscrimination policy, make sure while traveling you are careful what you state as your reason for staying, or what type of vehicle you are parking at their place.

I bring this us because I recently went on a week long trip out to Colorado.  This was the same time that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was going on, and that meant a lot of bikes on the road.  One afternoon on our trip out, we attempted to book with a hosting Airbnb individual named Mary Lou.  I told my wife, just like when we booked our Colorado destination Airbnb to ask about motorcycle parking.  I am assuming it the host got the vision of dirty bikers rolling through town hellbent on partying on the way to Sturgis.  Mary Lou promptly denied our request to stay at her place.  Was that actually what her thoughts were?  Maybe, maybe not, her loss because our money is as good and we leave places as neat as when we arrived.

While this so far was a one-off situation for us, we relayed the story to several other motorcycle riding friends who mentioned they had experienced the same thing.  That can't be a coincidence.  We'd never be able to prove that's why we were denied staying there, and even if we could, it's not really worth the fight.  Airbnb's policy is pretty in depth on matters of discrimination against sex, race, religion, or lifestyles.  Something to keep in mind if you're on the road looking for a place to stay and do dirty biker things for the night, like sleeping.  You can read more about what Airbnb will and will not allow HERE.