travel

Airbnb Reacts To Supreme Court Decision On Travel Ban

by Tanya Gazdik , June 27, 2018

Airbnb reacted quickly and emphatically to the Supreme Court decision upholding President Trump’s travel restrictions, which bans travel into the U.S. from certain countries, most of which are predominantly Muslim.

The travel company is launching a new digital ad highlighting the importance of travel. The 30-second ad campaign was developed in-house and was produced by Where the Buffalo Roam.

It features dramatic music with simple graphic images overlaid with copy that reads: “Imagine a world without travel, where everyone built walls and no one left home. There would be no immigrants. There would be no exploration. There would be no adventure. And definitely no United States of America. To limit travel is to turn back progress. Let’s keep traveling forward.”

Airbnb's co-founders, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk, also issued a statement on the Supreme Court's decision on the travel ban. It was emailed to Airbnb members and hosts Tuesday evening.

“We are profoundly disappointed by the Court's decision,” the three founders wrote. “The travel ban is a policy that goes against our mission and values — to restrict travel based on a person's nationality or religion is wrong. And while this news is a setback, we will continue the fight with organizations that are helping those impacted.”

Airbnb will match donations to the International Refugee Assistance Project up to a total of $150,000 through Sept.30 to support its work advocating for systemic change and legal pathways for those affected by the travel ban. The company previously pledged to contribute $4 million over the course of four years to the International Rescue Committee to support the most critical needs of displaced populations globally.

Airbnb members were invited to join the cause and donate here.

“We believe that travel is a transformative and powerful experience and that building bridges between cultures and communities creates a more innovative, collaborative and inspired world,” the letter continues. “At Airbnb, we are so grateful to our community who will continue to open doors around the world so that together, we can travel forward."

activism, ad campaign, hospitality, politics, travel

3 comments about "Airbnb Reacts To Supreme Court Decision On Travel Ban".

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Ken Kurtz from creative license, June 27, 2018 at 8:30 a.m.
Good for Airbnb! But they should go beyond digital so people will actually see the ad highlighting the importance of travel.

And while they're at it, they should focus on how utterly important it is for the many, many people devoted to murderous terrorism in those "certain countries" to TRAVEL, yes, to jump on planes to spread their pitiful messages, and murderous mayhem around the globe to innocent people.
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Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, June 27, 2018 at 9:06 a.m.

Travel opens minds, educates. Anti travel is another feather plucking as Madeline Albright quotes Mussoline "pluck one feather at a time so no one notices". Yes, it is directly connected. Note too: Travel to the US has decreased and millions of dollars have been lost and more people are traveling outside the US and money is leaving. Yes, that is related to these policies, too, whether you want to believe it or not. (You= the audience)

Ken Kurtz from creative license replied, June 27, 2018 at 5:33 p.m.

One can hardly say that this was a feather-plucking to avoid notice. Rather, typically Trump-like, this was loud, and obnoxious, and executed absent a finger in the air to test the politically correct winds that might be blowing (one of the things I like about Trump, there aren't many, is that he doesn't test political winds, or say he'll do something based upon the way that wind is blowing, and then later on "pluck the opposite feather" when nobody's looking like every life-long politician on the face of the planet seems comfortable lying about, and doing).

Yes, travel to the United States is down. Not much, and so what. The decrease of foreign visitors hasn't had an adverse effect on our economy, and domestic air travel within our borders is up, in part because Americans feel safer getting into planes, and flying today. Six of one, half dozen the other, while the economy BOOMS.

I remember when we had more international travelers, many of them from Arab countries. Many of those travelers overstayed visas, hiding in plain sight, checking out our systems (power grids, nuclear facilities, mass transit) for weaknesses, even learning how to fly planes in our own flight schools (not take off, or land, mind you... these "open-minded, educated" travelers just needed to learn how to fly our planes into American landmark buildings after hijacking them to spread their CLOSE-MINDED and UNEDUCATED bigotry, and hate).

Travel can educate, and open minds... and that will continue. I'm just glad that more Americans feel comfortable traveling in the US, as well as overseas now, more comfortable, in part, because somebody finally has their back here at home, and is sending a clear message that that crap will never again stand on our home turf.

Obama's ridiculous and failed policies resulted in exponentially more "millions of dollars lost" and "money leaving" than Trump's protective measure, and the terrible, sluggish, laggard recovery he oversaw for eight long years was the result of his failed policies.

US airlines doing PHENOMENALLY well, and more Americans are spreading more of their money around different parts of America than ever before. In less than two years, I've flown to three American cities for pleasure that I'd never been to before. Had a wonderful time with my family in each, opened my mind in each, and got more educated in each. LET'S KEEP THIS UP!

Trump will go down as one of the most unconventional, say what he means and mean what he says, "get things done" (kinda like in business, not like typically innefficient, inneffective, wasteful, "get nothing done" government) and BEST two term Presidents in our history. He will also go down as one of the most hated, in part, because so many on the left worship at the altar of bloated, innefficient, ineffective, wasteful government, and do not like the idea that this country will never be satisfied with that ever again.