All these properties that he is offering up are privately owned. His company is a clearing house or agent between owners and renters. The owners are free to refuse certain clients. I don't think the Fair Housing Act applies to short term rentals, at least as of now.
I don't know a lot about how AirBnB operates, but I have been renting a vacation property through VRBO for several years.
Everything you said is 100% correct. But where the shit gets sketchy is when a landlord will kick out all the long term renters and go 100% airbnb. Ok I am a capitalist and I would do the same thing because renters are a pain in the ass but this does reduce the amount of housing for people who need it long term, thus creating a shortage and jacking up prices.
You are right. My comment wasn't intended to address housing shortages. Mr. AirBnB CEO can't force his customers to rent to refugees and I'm betting a large percentage will refuse.
He is getting some free press, free advertising and a lot of feel-good virtue signaling. It doesn't matter if any 'refugees' get free housing. Now that I think about it, I might do the same thing if I were in his position.
What bothers me is if they try to pull the shit they did in Germany where they went to some family and said "guess what, we're housing 20 illegal aliens in your vacation home" or "you have two empty bedrooms, you have to take in 4 refugees per room". I doubt that will happen but if it does, if the guns don't come out of the closet we are finished for real.
If your property is worth more on a nightly basis then it's probably in a vacation spot or something. I'm sympathetic to the housing crisis; it kicks my ass, too, but I do seriously think white people need to move to where the housing is.
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