Airbnb has removed a Texas property from its listings after the host reportedly kicked out a couple for being gay.
The Huffington Post reported that Jonathan Wang told KTRK-TV that he and his partner, Brent, booked two nights at the home in Galveston for a friend’s wedding. The home’s owner, identified in media reports simply as Heather, confronted Wang when he returned after the reception.
“Heather asked me where my wife was,” he said. The situation became awkward when Heather asked who Brent was.
“She said, ‘I thought you were bringing a wife,'” Wang recalled. “I said, ‘I didn’t say that specifically … is that going to be OK? She said, ‘It’s not.'”
The couple were then forced to fins a hotel for the night. According to the report, Airbnb has since refunded Wang’s money, and paid for a night at the hotel he and Brent ultimately stayed in. The company issued a statement condemning the incident. “We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination on AirBNB,” the company said. “The host in question has been removed from the site. AirBNB has clear guidelines that a host or a guest may not promote hate or bigotry.”
