Airbnb is one of the largest travel brokers in the world, with more than 7 million listings in more than 200 countries. Because of its prominent role in the global travel market, Airbnb has both an interest in, and responsibility to, address growing concerns over politicization of its services and resist current activist demands for the same. One arena in which such politicization has become rampant is the issue of politically-motivated divestments. After the horrific and unconscionable events of October 7, many businesses, including both defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and travel companies like Tripadvisor, have come under fire for doing business1 with actors involved in the conflict, with activists alleging that their continuance of normal business practices in the region renders companies complicit in human rights violations. This pressure has also spread to Airbnb — a day after the initial attacks of October 7, the Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions movement released a call2 for “institutional pressure campaigns” against corporate actors willing to do business in regions affected by the conflict. Among the list of targeted companies? Google, Amazon… and Airbnb. Airbnb itself is no stranger to politicized divestments. In 2018, the company announced its decision3 to remove 200 “Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank,” citing strong views of “historic and intense disputes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank” from those who “believe companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced.” In Airbnb’s defense, it reversed4 its decision regarding West Bank listings in 2019, but the damage had been done — the door for politicized divestments had been opened. Now, Airbnb is once again facing pressure over its decision to maintain listings in areas of the world rocked by conflict. Yet this time, the pressure is not internal, but external — fueled by activists who have no investment in Airbnb’s success, and who have explicitly maligned5 Airbnb, which provides jobs to thousands and whose success has created unimaginable human flourishing worldwide, as “complicit in…crimes against humanity.” Airbnb has an opportunity to resist this profoundly anti-business activism and take a meaningful stand on behalf of shareholders and brand performance alike — politicized divestments, regardless of which side or activist cause they favor, hurt brand performance, impact shareholder return, and politicize Airbnb’s corporate policies. Resisting such politicization is key to creating a world where Airbnb’s mission of “belong anywhere” truly means everywhere, not just the places where corporate activists would like the Company to be. 1 https://news.airbnb.com/a-message-to-airbnb-employees-about-the-crisis-in-israel-and-gaza/ 2 https://bdsmovement.net/news/urgent-action-alert-for-meaningful-support-for-palestinians 3 https://news.airbnb.com/listings-in-disputed-regions/ 4 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/world/middleeast/airbnb-israel-west-bank.html 5 https://bdsmovement.net/news/urgent-action-alert-for-meaningful-support-for-palestinians