Last updated September 6, 2019
Inclusion
We welcome guests of all backgrounds with authentic hospitality and open minds. Using the Stay Raja Ampat Platform, as a host or guest, means becoming part of a community of inclusion. Bias, prejudice, racism, and hatred have no place on our platform or in our community. While hosts are required to follow all applicable laws that prohibit discrimination based on such factors as race, religion, national origin, and others listed below, we commit to do more than comply with the minimum requirements established by law. However: Outside of the United States and the European Union, some countries or communities may allow or even require people to make accommodation distinctions based on, for example, marital status, national origin, gender or sexual orientation, in violation of our general non-discrimination philosophy. In these cases, we do not require hosts to violate local laws, nor to accept guests that could expose the hosts to a real and demonstrable risk of arrest, or physical harm to their persons or property.
Respect
We are respectful of each other in our interactions and encounters. The Association appreciates that cultural norms vary around the world, and expects hosts and guests to abide by local laws, and to engage with each other respectfully, even when views may not reflect their beliefs or upbringings. By connecting people from different backgrounds, the Association fosters greater understanding and appreciation for the common characteristics shared by all human beings and aims to undermine prejudice rooted in misconception, misinformation, or misunderstanding.
Race, Color, Ethnicity, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, or Marital Status
With the exception of local laws or circumstances as mentioned above,
- Association hosts may not:
- Decline a guest based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Impose any different terms or conditions based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Post any listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any guest on account of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
Gender Identity
The Stay Raja Ampat Platform does not assign a gender identity to our users. We consider the gender of an individual to be what they identify.
- Association hosts may not:
- Decline to rent to a guest based on gender unless the host shares living spaces (for example, bathroom, kitchen, or common areas) with the guest.
- Impose any different terms or conditions based on gender unless the host shares living spaces with the guest.
- Post any listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any guest on account of gender, unless the host shares living spaces with the guest.
- Association hosts may:
- Make a unit available to guests of the host’s gender and not the other, where the host shares living spaces with the guest.
Age and Familial Status
- Association hosts may not:
- Impose any different terms or conditions or decline a reservation based on the guest’s age or familial status, where prohibited by law.
- Association hosts may:
- Provide factually accurate information about their listing’s features (or lack of them) that could make the listing unsafe or unsuitable for guests of a certain age or families with children or infants.
- Note in their listing applicable community restrictions (e.g. senior housing) that prohibit guests under a particular age or families with children or infants.
Disability
- Association hosts may not:
- Decline a guest based on any actual or perceived disability.
- Impose any different terms or conditions based on the fact that the guest has a disability.
- Substitute their own judgment about whether a unit meets the needs of a guest with a disability for that of the prospective guest.
- Inquire about the existence or severity of a guest’s disability, or the means used to accommodate any disability. If, however, a potential guest raises his or her disability, a host may, and should, discuss with the potential guest whether the listing meets the potential guest’s needs.
- Prohibit or limit the use of mobility devices.
- Charge more for guests with disabilities, because of the disability.
- Post any listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any guest on account of the fact that the guest has a disability.
- Refuse to communicate with guests through accessible means that are available, including relay operators (for people with hearing impairments) and e-mail (for people with vision impairments using screen readers).
- Refuse to provide reasonable accommodations, including flexibility when guests with disabilities request modest changes in your house rules. When a guest requests such an accommodation, the host and the guest should engage in a dialogue to explore mutually agreeable ways to ensure the unit meets the guest’s needs.
- Association hosts may:
- Provide factually accurate information about the unit’s accessibility features (or lack of them), allowing for guests with disabilities to assess for themselves whether the unit is appropriate to their individual needs.
Personal preferences
- Association hosts may:
- Except as noted above, Association hosts may decline to rent based on factors that are not prohibited by law. For example, except where prohibited by law, Association hosts may decline to rent guests with pets, or to guests who smoke.
- Require guests to respect restrictions on foods consumed in the listing (e.g., a host who maintains a Halal or vegetarian kitchen may require guests to respect those restrictions). These restrictions should be stated clearly in your house rules.
Nothing in this policy prevents a host from turning down a guest on the basis of a characteristic that is not protected under the civil rights laws or closely associated with a protected class. For example, an Association host may turn down a guest who wants to smoke in a unit, or place limits on the number of guests in a unit.
When guests are turned down.
Hosts should keep in mind that no one likes to be turned down. While a host may have, and articulate, lawful and legitimate reasons for turning down a potential guest, it may cause that member of our community to feel unwelcome or excluded. Hosts should make every effort to be welcoming to guests of all backgrounds. Hosts who demonstrate a pattern of rejecting guests from a protected class (even while articulating legitimate reasons) undermine the strength of our community by making potential guests feel unwelcome, and the Association may suspend hosts who have demonstrated such a pattern from the Stay Raja Ampat platform.
What happens when a host does not comply with our policies in this area?
If the host improperly rejects guests on the basis of protected class, or uses language demonstrating that his or her actions were motivated by factors prohibited by this policy, the Association will take steps to enforce this policy, up to and including suspending or permanently removing the host from the platform.
We will continue to ensure that the Association’s policies and practices align with our most important goal: To ensure that guests and hosts feel welcome and respected in all of their interactions using the Stay Raja Ampat platform. The public, our community, and we ourselves, expect no less than this.