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15•04•19 Welcome to the latest Short Term Rentalz weekly newsletter!
• The latest episode in the ongoing saga in Israel this week saw Airbnb announce it had reversed its decision to remove West Bank settlement listings from its website.
The policy change came about following a court settlement between Airbnb and American Jewish plaintiffs from pro-Israel law organisation Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, who sued the rental company. It was reported that a copy of the settlement showed Airbnb had agreed to allow rentals in both Palestinian areas and Israeli settlements of the West Bank.
Airbnb’s announcement in November that it would remove around 200 listings in West Bank settlements caused controversy, with the plaintiffs claiming the company was discriminating against Jewish people as it was still displaying listings by Christians in the West Bank at the time.
Airbnb disputed this by contending that the settlements were "at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians", having previously been criticised by Palestinian officials and human rights campaigners for allowing rental listings in those settlements in the first place.
The company said in a statement: "Airbnb has never boycotted Israel, Israeli businesses, or the more than 20,000 Israeli hosts who are active on the platform. We have always sought to bring people together and will continue to work with our community to achieve this goal."
Shurat Hadin filed the lawsuit under the Fair Housing Act, which aims to prevent discrimination against minorities in the United States. US law requires all companies based in the country, such as Airbnb, to adhere to the Act across all of its listings worldwide.
The pro-Israel law organisation's president Nitsana Darshan-Leitner told Jewish News: "The policy Airbnb announced was abject discrimination against Jewish users of the website. Whatever one's political view, discrimination based on religious affiliation should never be the solution."
The issue highlighted the complexities of settlement listings, as Airbnb announced it would allow the listings but donate profits to humanitarian aid organisations in disputed territories, such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia adjacent to Georgia. It also added it did not support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.
Meanwhile in industry news, extended stay business travel solutions provider BridgeStreet has announced Kamal Advani has been appointed as CEO, taking over from Sean Worker.
Advani has been a longstanding BridgeStreet board member and will bring 30 years of operating and financial experience to the role. Worker, however, is leaving to pursue other interests.
On joining BridgeStreet, he said: “I am excited to take on a greater operational role and help continue BridgeStreet’s evolution as growth accelerates with rapid customer adoption of BridgeStreet’s platform and leading-edge capabilities.”
If you have a story you want us to tell the industry, please click here and get involved with the community by commenting on our news stories on our website.
Paul Stevens, reporter
paul@internationalhospitality.media
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