To follow our campaign & learn more: https://linktr.ee/718Coalition

*Lea en Español: ¡Exige Vivienda Segura para Evitar Futuras Muertes Causadas por Airbnb!

*Leia em Português: Exija Moradia Segura Para Evitar Mortes Futuras Causadas pelo Airbnb!

*Read our full statement: Airbnb Murdered Our Brother & the United States was its Accomplice

Several people have died at Airbnb rentals across the world because of Airbnb's prioritization of profits over human safety. On October 5th, 2022, our brother and friend Sebastian Mejia died as a result of unsafe housing conditions at the Airbnb he was renting while on a Fulbright scholarship; Sebastian was poisoned to death by carbon monoxide gas while he simply tried to shower.

That same exact month, just weeks after Sebastian was killed, 4 other innocent lives were also taken; Kandace Florence, Courtez Hall, Jordan Marshall, and Angélica Arce all encountered deadly conditions at their Airbnb rentals and were poisoned to death by carbon monoxide.

These cases are not exceptional, however, and instead, follow a long history in which Airbnb has done absolutely nothing to ensure the safety of its millions of users worldwide. Daisy Saucedo, Ed Winders, Barbara Moller, Peter J. Kraus, a 35-year-old Canadian woman, 6 Brazilian renters (two of them children), José Nuñez Jr., Maria Nuñez, and their 2-year-old son Jayden Nuñez were also killed by a lack of tenant safety compounding in deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.

Similarly, 19-month-old Enora Lavenir, Louis Stone, Lauren Kassirer, Nathan Sears, Charlie Lacroix, Walid Belkahla, An Wu, Dania Zafar, Saniya Khan, and Camille Maheux have all had their lives stolen from them and their loved ones because of Airbnb's disregard of necessary safety precautions for tenants.

And just a couple of months ago, in April of 2023, Austin Crews became the latest publicly reported victim of Airbnb's deliberate safety negligence and died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Sadly, this list of victims is not exhaustive and does not account for the injuries and unreported deaths of countless other Airbnb renters, especially those Airbnb has silenced.

Despite what Airbnb says, these deaths are not “tragic accidents” nor individual mistakes and to describe them as such evades the root of the problem: every death could have been prevented had it not been for Airbnb's systemic devaluation of human life in pursuit of profits. Airbnb has intentionally made profit-motivated decisions that cause severe harm and death:

• Airbnb (& other short-term rental companies like Vrbo) does NOT require carbon monoxide detectors, smoke alarms, and fire extinguishers for the majority of its rentals. These basic common sense safety measures are only required for luxury Airbnb Plus listings that cost significantly more to rent and generate drastically more revenue for the company.

• Airbnb happily abides by the United States’ murderous sanctions as it excludes people in countries like Cuba from receiving potentially life-saving smoke and carbon monoxide detectors through its so-called "global" detector program, despite still conducting business within the country.

• Airbnb continuously lists unsafe rentals that violate safety & building codes and local regulations because a majority of its revenue comes from illegal activity. In fact, as high as 85% of Airbnb rentals in major cities violate local laws.

• Despite being condemned by Palestinian civil society, the United Nations, and international human rights groups, Airbnb has continued to operate in occupied Palestine and has weaponized housing to enable – and profit from – the continued genocide, apartheid, displacement, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by zionist settlers.

• Airbnb has crafted a revolving door of police, CIA, FBI, & military personnel for its “Trust & Safety” teams – not to protect its millions of users – but to prevent negative public attention and mitigate "financial and reputational impact to Airbnb’s brand" when tenants die/are severely harmed at Airbnb properties.

Airbnb is a U.S.-based company operating in over 191 countries. Yet, the United States government has done nothing to curtail the violence Airbnb is perpetuating and, in many ways, serves as the template for Airbnb to follow as it violently profits from people's housing needs and engages in human rights atrocities. Airbnb's exploitative and unregulated business practices have displaced families from their communities and have created the conditions so that any and all Airbnb rentals across the world can be deathtraps.

We will not allow another life to be stolen simply because Airbnb and its landlords view safety precautions as unnecessary expenses that cut into their profit-making potential. As part of the #CantBreatheCauseAirbnb campaign (#SinAirePorAirbnb / #SemArPorAirbnb / a translation in your language), we completely reject the capitalist exploitation of housing and take seriously the fact that safe and dignified housing, alongside education, healthcare, and other necessities of life, are People(s)-Centered Human Rights. We call on everyone to keep their communities safe and demand the following:

1. We call on all people to boycott Airbnb and other short-term rental companies. Since these companies can’t be trusted to keep us safe, a mass boycott is needed to expose their deliberate negligence and enact much-needed change that prioritizes human life over corporate profits.

2. We demand the public seizure of Airbnb rentals around the world to house those directly impacted by the commodification of housing: houseless Black, Indigenous, and racialized people and poor and working families displaced from their homes. Once publicly seized, these housing accommodations must be inspected to meet health and safety regulations and updated with life-saving measures to ensure occupants’ well-being.

3. We demand Airbnb immediately cease operations in the illegally occupied and stolen lands of Palestine.

4. We demand governments & regulatory organizations – in every city/country Airbnb operates in – enforce housing and safety regulations and place severe fines upon Airbnb, landlords, and other rental companies for their disregard for human life. Airbnb and exploiters of housing must be obligated to meet renter-friendly safety standards: the proper installation and maintenance of fuel-burning appliances, carbon monoxide detectors, fire alarm systems & extinguishers, ventilation systems, and the adherence to comprehensive safety and building codes, is just a basic yet necessary starting point. *If tenant safety is not ensured, we demand Airbnb cease operations entirely as it continuously threatens the well-being of the general public.*

5. We call on all people to be in solidarity with exploited workers and renters who face situations of precarity and are struggling to have their basic rights met. In the same vein, we call on everyone to fight alongside those who have also endured capitalist-imperialist and corporate violence, such as #StopCopCity protestors/land protectors and people’s movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America & the Caribbean. Offer support, amplify their demands, and connect with their struggles!

6. We call on all people, especially academics and Fulbright scholars, to demand that Fulbright and other government-run scholarship programs provide safe and dignified housing to all grantees (from the U.S. and abroad), cover all expenses for grantees and their dependents, and pay participants an adequate livable stipend to prevent another death funded by Fulbright.

7. We demand the systemic prioritization of housing as a fundamental human right. U.S.-NATO-led war, militarism, and police must be abolished, and the trillions of dollars dedicated to them must instead be invested in safe & dignified housing and social services to begin building zones of peace in our world.

Together, we hold the power to make sure we can all breathe just a little bit easier.

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