A gay Airbnb host living with HIV was left “unsettled, confused, and distraught” after a guest filed a complaint against him, suspending his account, and left a blood tests leaflet “prominently” on his windowsill when checking out in a “horrific” experience of apparent homophobia at the start of Pride Month. Philip Baldwin, a 38-year-old human rights activist and writer who is “open and proud” about his sexuality, said his Airbnb guest checked in to the spare room of his London apartment on May 22 and was initially “very friendly” and “chatty”.
The following day, the guest enquired about Philip’s work while sitting in front of his laptop – they discussed current affairs, as well as his writing and involvement in radio. Just 30 minutes later, Philip said the guest’s “attitude towards (him) completely changed” and he started to avoid “any form of contact” – he only engaged in conversation via texts and “did not touch” the freshly cleaned towels he provided in the shared bathroom.
Philip believes the guest searched his name online, which would have listed articles and his social media profiles, which say he is “gay and living with HIV”, however he “tried (his) hardest to assume that this wasn’t anything to do with (his) sexuality or HIV status. I didn’t want to start making assumptions about him, but I was getting the impression that he thought any form of contact with something that I touched could be dangerous,” he said.
“It was beginning to feel like I was treading on eggshells the entire time.” Philip said he tried to “rationalise” the situation and “explain it away”, as he thought perhaps the guest was just extremely private or had become busy with work, however, when he checked his Airbnb account on May 26, he noticed his account had been suspended.
Numerous calls to Airbnb revealed an ongoing investigation had been launched and, on June 3 at the start of Pride Month – when the guest checked out, Philip noticed a blood tests leaflet from the London Medical Laboratory had been left “prominently” on the windowsill, which included a section on HIV tests. Philip said he burst into tears upon seeing the leaflet, but he later felt it helped to explain the guest’s “odd behaviour”, which he believes was motivated by homophobia.
Days later, after check-out, Airbnb informed him that a complaint had been made against him, but he said the company could not reveal any further details due to privacy reasons. While Philip’s case has since been resolved and the guest has been suspended, pending further investigation, he said the “entire experience was horrific”, as it left him “paranoid, frightened, and confused” – and he feels that more needs to be done to educate people on the UK’s anti-discrimination legislation.
“I’d really been challenging myself not to jump to conclusions because I don’t like to perceive myself as someone who jumps to conclusions about people,” he said. “There were moments where I was even wondering if I was somehow going mad, as if none of it was real – he hadn’t touched the towels that I had provided, he hadn’t been talking to me – but there were still ways in which this could be rationalised.
“But when I saw the leaflet, it was like a smoking gun.” He added: “I know that, ultimately, this has been resolved, but I’m just really concerned that this could happen to someone else who is gay, or who is living with HIV, because it simply isn’t realistic that everyone else is going to be as aware of equalities legislation.”
Philip’s Airbnb listing states he offers a private bedroom in central London, which can be locked for security reasons, along with access to a shared smart bathroom. The guest made the booking for 12 nights – from May 22 to June 3.
The day after arrival, Philip believes the guest researched his name online – due to his activism, writing, and radio presenting – and this would have shown his sexuality and HIV status. He said the guest then stopped speaking to him and avoided face-to-face contact, did not use the clean towels in the bathroom, and started conversing purely through texts.
Philip sent polite messages, such as: “I just wanted to check if you need any fresh towels or body wash/shampoo?”, and showered at his gym every day in order to respect the guest’s privacy, but he said the man’s actions left him feeling “anxious” and “introspective. I actually couldn’t really concentrate on anything else, and I couldn’t sleep for more than a few hours, as I would wake up and then struggle to sleep again,” Philip said.
On May 26, Philip noticed his Airbnb account had been suspended, and he said he called the company “straightaway”, believing it may be an IT fault. He called again the following day and was informed an investigation had been launched.
During a third phone call on May 30, Philip informed Airbnb that his guest had been “behaving in a really strange way”. The guest then checked out of the apartment on June 3, and this is when he discovered the blood tests leaflet, which made him cry.
He checked his account again the same day and it was still suspended, but it was only after the guest had left that he was told a complaint had been made about eight days earlier – although he said the nature of this complaint could not be disclosed due to privacy reasons. “I was really upset, completely confused,” Philip said.
“By this point, I was actually starting to feel really victimised and angry… but at least the leaflet confirmed that I hadn’t been imagining his behaviour". The matter was then escalated to a senior complaints investigator, and Philip was contacted by a safety team member through Airbnb’s messaging platform.
Philip said he provided “a very clear account” of the events during the guest’s stay, and cited legislation from the Equality Act 2010, as “there are specific provisions protecting people living with HIV, as well as protecting people against homophobia”. Then, on June 7, Philip was told the complaint had not been upheld and his account was open again for bookings – but he still does not know why an investigation was launched.
“What I found most difficult about this, is that neither the guest nor Airbnb told me directly that there was a problem,” Philip said. “The guest had made a complaint, but he didn’t tell me about this, and Airbnb had received a complaint, but they didn’t tell me about this until after the guest had checked out.
“So, for eight days, I was left really anxious; I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t do basic tasks… and it was really distressing because I wasn’t sure if I was imagining all of this.” Philip has since received a positive review from another Airbnb guest, describing him as a “great” and “kind” host – but he fears the outcome with his previous guest could have been different if he had not taken an accurate record of the events and did not have thorough knowledge of the Equality Act 2010.
He feels that Airbnb and its guests need to be more “aware of the anti-discrimination legislation” so that everyone feels included and safe – and particularly during Pride Month, as he hopes no-one else “experiences homophobia or discrimination based on their HIV status”. “The entire experience was really horrific for me,” he said.
“Since my HIV diagnosis in 2010, I’ve actually never been impacted by discrimination so much. I’ve had people end relationships with me; I’ve had people ask me in church if it’s safe to drink from the same chalice; I’ve had people abuse me on social media, telling me that I’m going to go to hell because of my HIV status.
“However, at least in all of these instances, the people have been transparent and upfront.” An Airbnb spokesperson said: “Discrimination has no place on Airbnb, and we have reached out to the host to provide our full support. The guest has been suspended while our specialised anti-discrimination team thoroughly investigates this matter.”
