Dyne Suh had booked an Airbnb for herself, her fiancé, and two of their friends in Running Springs, CA, for President’s Day weekend. Everything seemed to be confirmed until the very last minute, when, according to Suh, the host had a change of heart.
Suh and her friends were mere minutes away from the Airbnb when the host began to send her racist messages. “I wouldn’t rent it to u if u were the last person on earth,” the host messaged Suh, according to screenshots she posted online. “One word says it all. Asian.”
Suh, who is a student of critical race studies at UCLA Law School, began speaking to journalists about the incident this week. She told local station NBC 4 that she informed the host she would report them for being racist.
The host told her to “go ahead,” adding, “it’s why we have Trump.”
NBC 4 reported on Wednesday that the host also told Suh, “I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners,” before canceling the reservation.
In a video that appears to have been taken the same day as the incident and was posted online recently by reporter Steve Kuzj, Suh explained that she is an American citizen, and has lived in the U.S. since she was 3 years old.
“There are no bounds to racism, no matter what class you are, no matter what your education level, no matter if you are an American citizen,” Suh explained while holding back tears. “What they see is that I’m Asian. What they see is my race, and this is how we get treated.”
“It stings that after living in the U.S. for over 23 years, this is what happens,” Suh said in the video. “No matter if I follow the law, if I’m kind to people, no matter how well I treat others–it doesn’t matter. If you’re Asian, then you’re less than human. and people can treat you like trash.”
An Airbnb spokesperson told NBC 4 that the host has been permanently removed from the site under the site’s non-discrimination policy.