Airbnb bans host who cited Trump as reason for refusing Asian guest

Apr 8, 2017

Dyne Suh was going to spend President’s Day Weekend at Big Bear Lake with her boyfriend and two friends, but her weekend plans came crashing down around her ears when the Airbnb host abruptly refused to let her stay at the lodging.

“She said ‘we’re done’ and canceled the trip,” Suh said in a video posted to YouTube.

Suh said that she questioned the host on the cancellation, pointing out that they had confirmed the booking ahead of time. When she pressed the host to give a reason for the cancellation, the host said, “One word says it all: Asian. It’s why we have Trump.”

— Man removed from Airbnb for racist, hate-filled messages to black client ––

When Suh said she would be reporting the host to Airbnb, the response was: “We can’t have foreigners telling us what to do.”

Suh, an American citizen, emigrated with her family from South Korea and has only ever known the United States as home. “It stings that after living in the U.S. for over 23 years this is what happens,” she said. “No matter how well I treat others, if you’re Asian you’re less than human, and people can treat you like trash.”

Suh did report the incident to Airbnb, who quickly banned the host and issued a statement saying, “We have worked to provide the guest with our full support and in line with our non-discrimination policy, this host has been permanently removed from the Airbnb platform,” as well as calling the host’s behavior “abhorrent and unacceptable.”