The Fault in the Stars: Public Reputation and the Reproduction of Racial Inequality on Airbnb

• In Event: 3240 - The Economic Sociology of Inequality

Abstract

Public reputation systems are central to the operation of the “sharing economy.” The platforms that have come to dominate this sector depend on the reputation systems as key features to facilitate exchange among strangers, by providing a measure of trustworthiness. However, the platforms have been far from egalitarian spaces. Using data on Airbnb from 2015 and 2016, covering the 10 largest urban Airbnb markets in the USA, I find two critical dynamics in the reputation system that place participants of color at a significant disadvantage. First, it is harder for them to enter into exchanges due to racial discrimination and thus generate the reputation information, which might be able to ameliorate the effects of that discrimination. I show that among Airbnb listings that came on the platform during this two-year period, those located in areas with a higher percentage of residents of color were both less likely to receive a booking and were available to be booked for longer before receiving their first booking. Equally important, even when participants of color are able to generate reputation information on the platforms, this information itself suffers from racial bias. I find that among the listings that were able to obtain ratings on Airbnb during this period, being located in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of residents of color significantly increased the odds of a listing having a lower rating. These findings suggests public reputation systems are not merely bulwarks against discrimination, as the existing scholarship assumes, but are themselves potential sites of discrimination.

Author

• Mehmet Cansoy, Fairfield University