A California woman is speaking out about the February ordeal she and and three friends endured after she claims they were denied lodging at the last minute during a snowstorm by an Airbnb host due to her race.
Dyne Suh, of Riverside, detailed her experience in a Feb. 18 Facebook post featuring screenshots from her exchange with the host, who said who said she was canceling the booking in Running Springs and wouldn’t rent to Suh if she was the “last person” on Earth.
“One word says it all,” the screenshot read. “Asian.”
Suh, who was traveling with friends on Presidents’ Day weekend for a trip to Bear Mountain Ski Resort, said the group had parked just minutes away from the location when the host canceled. A news crew from KTLA in the area to cover a severe winter storm then interviewed her, with Suh telling the station the host had confirmed via text that she could add two people to the original reservation. Suh said the booking went awry when she followed up as the group got closer.
“If you think four people and two dogs ate [sic] getting a room fir [sic] $50 a night on Big Bear mountain during the busiest weekend of the year … You are insanely high,” the host said, according to screenshots.
“I just froze when I read that,” Suh told KTKA Thursday. “My heart just sank.”
Suh then told the host that she planned to report her to Airbnb officials, prompting her to reply: “It’s why we have Trump.”
The host also added: “And I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners.”
In a YouTube video posted this week recounting the ordeal, an emotional Suh said she’s been an American citizen for over two decades.
“I’m an American citizen, this is my home,” Suh said. “I’ve been here since I was three years old. America is my home, I consider myself an American but this woman discriminates against me for being Asian. She canceled on us when we were three minutes away from the house, we’re three minutes away. I just feel so hurt.”
Suh said the incident serves as a reminder to her that racism is “very much alive” in the United States.
“It can happen to anyone, there’s no bounds to racism,” Suh said. “No matter what class you are, no matter what your education level, no matter if you’re an American citizen – what they see is that I’m Asian, what they see is my race and this is how we get treated. It stings.”
Hours after her original Facebook post, Suh wrote in the early morning hours of March 18 that her group had found another place to stay, a “cute cabin” near the mountain. Earlier in the same thread, she said Airbnb issued the group a full refund and said they would reimburse them for a hotel stay.
A spokesman for the company told KTLA that the host has since been banned from hospitality service.
“Airbnb does not condone discrimination in any way,” spokesman Christopher Nulty told the station. “We have worked to provide the guest with our full support. In line with our non-discrimination policy, this host has been permanently removed from the Airbnb platform.”
The host, meanwhile, had no comment when reached by NBC Los Angeles, the station reports.
The Washington Post reports that the company declined to indicate additional details on the cancellation or if the host has had prior complaints. The company also declined to confirm the host’s name and the original listing in question is apparently no longer available, the newspaper reports.