Black Traveling Resources
Since the start of the pandemic the travel industry has seen a 48% decrease in revenue, compared to the $1.1 trillion spent on traveling in 2019. As restrictions loosen and the vaccine finds its way across the world, the industry is projected to be on a comeback and people are expected to start traveling again. While the idea of traveling is probably riding around in everyone’s mind right now rather than being stuck at home, there are those for whom traveling can be dangerous due to discriminatory hosts. In this guide, we’ll share some resources and tips particularly for Black travelers but can be utilized by anyone traveling.
If you’ve seen #AirbnbWhileBlack, then you might be familiar with the social media movement born out of frustration, disappointment, and disgust with Airbnb’s inability to create a travel community that offers all travelers a safe, welcoming experience. Despite the fact that Airbnb’s policy states the following:
“Airbnb hosts may not:
- Decline a booking based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Impose any different terms or conditions based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Post any listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any guest on account of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.”
Users of the service have found themselves in uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous situations where the color of their skin has been the reason their hosts have been hostile or unwelcoming and sometimes they lose their bookings all together. In 2016, Airbnb claimed it had removed 1.3 million people from the platform since 2016 for “declining to treat others without judgement or bias. While Airbnb has removed the feature of viewing the hostee’s profile photos until after the start of booking lodging to deter potential discrimination based on how people look, travelers may be interested in other traveling and booking services.
Lodging
Noirbnb, created in 2015 by real estate agent Stefan Grant, provides Black travelers with a safe travel experience by offering travel accommodations without discrimination when traveling domestically and internationally. Although Noirbnb caters to the Black traveler community, travelers of any race, culture, gender or religion can use this platform. Check out their website here to start planning your next getaway.
NABHOOD (National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers), was formed in 1998 and over the past two decades, as the number of African-Americans involved in developing, owning, managing and operating hotels has drastically increased, has worked to generate wealth within the Black community. If you have plans to travel within the US and are interested in lodging at a black owned hotel and supporting a black owned business, you can check out NABHOOD’s hotel listings on their website to find a place to stay next time you travel.
Additional Resources
To learn more about traveling and staying safe, check out this article on Million Miles Secrets that goes more in depth about how to avoid racism while traveling and overall just good practices and tips for Black travelers.
