Lake’s mission is to create an open community where everyone is welcome to enjoy new experiences and create the perfect vacation. Lake maintains a commitment to respect and opposes discrimination against hosts, guests, and their families for their immutable characteristics or faith.
Even further, Lake recognizes and respects local, regional, and federal anti-discrimination laws, and expects hosts and guests on this platform to do the same.
By holding to these principles, everyone in the Lake community can look forward to a safe and enjoyable vacation experience.
Guidance for Hosts
As a host, you bear responsibility for crafting an informative, welcoming, and fair listing. Guests should not be turned away on the basis of their religion or immutable characteristics. All guests, regardless of background, should be treated with the same level of care and dignity.
Accessibility
Ensuring your rental unit is up to code with applicable accessibility laws will ensure all guests feel welcome and can enjoy their vacations to the fullest. Lake advocates for accommodating guests with special needs.
Guests with special needs should be treated with as much dignity as any other guest, and discussing reasonable accommodations with the guest beforehand will allow you to meet this level of care. For example, even if you have a no-pet policy, exceptions should be made for service animals.
Personal Preferences and Legitimate Restrictions
In some cases, there are legitimate reasons to place restrictions or make your preferences known.
House rules and notices should be consistently applied and made clear before a guest has made a booking. If your rental unit has a no-pet or no-smoking policy, or your faith requires that the kitchen remain kosher, make that clear in the listing.
Similarly, if you are sharing the space and would only like to rent to members of the same sex, explain that. If your property is in a seniors only community, make that fact known.
Be courteous and kind when informing guests about these things. Both host and guest should be treated with dignity and leave the interaction feeling mutually respected.
Consequences for Non-Compliance with Hosting Policies
If a host fails to comply with the non-discrimination policy, a series of remedial actions may be taken.
- Inappropriate Language in Listings: If a listing on Lake uses language that goes against the nondiscrimination policy, a host will be prompted to revise it. If that posting has been inappropriately flagged, please appeal it by emailing support.
- Rejection of Guests: Should there be a situation where a host is rejecting guests based on protected characteristics, disciplinary actions may be taken.
Lake reserves the right to receive complaints and investigate them, as well as prompt changes to posts, issue warnings, and suspend accounts found to be noncompliant.
As hosts, you provide a wonderful space for people of all backgrounds to enjoy a lovely stay. At Lake, we appreciate hosts who keep the community welcoming.
Guidance for Guests
Guests are held to the same standards and owe their hosts a similar respect and care. Hosts and their homes should be treated with dignity, and their house rules should be followed, including ones based on religious convictions. If a listing expresses a rule you do not agree with, feel free to look at other bookings.
Just as hosts are expected to make guests feel welcome, guests should be polite and kind to hosts. Harassment of hosts is not welcome on Lake, and appropriate action will be taken in incidents of harassment.
Lake reserves the right to receive complaints and investigate them, as well as issue warnings and suspend accounts found to be noncompliant.
Conclusion
Lake aims to foster a community in which guests and hosts are free to enjoy a vacation free of discrimination while being able to live out their convictions. As such, Lake supports accommodations for those who need them and respect for those with religious convictions. Lake opposes discrimination against people for their immutable characteristics.
With hosts, guests, and the Company promoting respect and recognizing the dignity of all, the Lake community will create a friendly and welcoming community.