Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam banned from, then reinstated to Airbnb

Bethany Hallam was just about finished planning her late October birthday vacation to watch the Steelers play in Miami, then travel to North Carolina for the Pitt-UNC game, and then finish in Philadelphia to see the Steelers take on the Eagles.

“It’s like my dream birthday trip,” said Hallam, who, in addition to serving as Allegheny County councilwoman at-large, is a massive Pittsburgh sports fan.

Then, on Monday, Hallam received an email from Airbnb notifying her that her reservation was canceled and she was banned from the platform after a background check performed for Airbnb revealed a “criminal record match.”

Hallam, a Democrat from Pittsburgh’s North Side, has been very open about her criminal history, which mostly involved an opioid addiction and drug possession convictions. She spoke during her campaign in 2019 about how she had been rehabilitated and how others aren’t as fortunate as her.

She said she was confused by the cancellation, considering she had been using Airbnb for years, and all of her convictions were from before 2015 when Airbnb enacted its criminal background policy.

Hallam shared the email on Twitter. After her tweet started to go viral, Airbnb responded and requested to message Hallam privately.

Hallam said after some back and forth emails, she was unbanned.

Did I just… get a lifetime @Airbnb booking ban for a 9 year old possession charge?!? ???? pic.twitter.com/58nZl27Ndf

— Bethany Hallam (@bethanyhallam) September 13, 2022

Throughout the whole process, she said she was confused why she was banned and what specific conviction led to it.

“I know my record because I talk about it a lot,” Hallam said. “For them to ban me for that — it was confusing. What are the guidelines for who gets banned?”

In a statement, Airbnb spokesman Ben Breit said the company runs background checks in the U.S. for public safety reasons and the company may remove people from the platform who have “certain convictions, or who have multiple prior convictions.”

He said Hallam was reinstated based on their appeals process.

“We understand that there may be a number of reasons why someone may have a criminal conviction on their record, so we developed an evidence-based appeals process that takes into account the type of crime and evidence of rehabilitation when considering reinstatement,” Breit said.

But Hallam said the process for who gets banned and appealed lacks too much transparency. She wants Airbnb to make it clear which convictions result in being banned and how it is applied.

Hallam said hundreds of people replied to her tweet, sharing stories about being banned from Airbnb due to minor infractions like traffic violations or disorderly conduct.

She doesn’t think the criminal record policy is being enforced fairly.

“I don’t really care about me being reinstated, my reaction was more shock and frustration,” said Hallam. “I am more concerned about everyone else who isn’t an elected official, and doesn’t have a social media platform to help them get reinstated.”

According to Airbnb’s website, “lesser crimes like disorderly conduct or marijuana possession” are not removable offenses, while crimes like felony burglary and felony larceny can result in a 14-year ban, and fraud can result in a seven-year ban. Murder, terrorism, rape, or child molestation may result in permanent removal.

It’s unclear which of Hallam’s convictions resulted in a ban, and she has no convictions as serious as those listed on Airbnb’s website.

Hallam is concerned that this criminal conviction policy will disproportionately affect low-income communities and people of color, since they are more likely to interact with the criminal justice system. She said there are tens of thousands of people in Allegheny County with criminal records who already struggle to find jobs or housing. Hallam said a policy like this only makes their lives more difficult.

“Airbnb can think that I will just shut up and go away because I was reinstated, but I am going to keep fighting them,” she said.