Airbnb says it will take "appropriate action" against a host who kicked a legally blind woman and her guide dog out of accommodation.
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Micaela Schmidt had travelled to Wagga Wagga in NSW with a carer but was left disappointed at the experience when the host of the Airbnb she had booked asked her and her guide dog Ellie to leave.
Ms Schmidt said she had travelled to Wagga with a carer to check out the area as a potential place to live, but was quickly left disappointed at the experience when a host at the Airbnb she booked asked her to leave.
"The lady who owned the Airbnb saw us on her security camera and just asked us to leave straight away without kind of any explanation or answering our phone calls for a chat or anything," Ms Schmidt said.
"We're legally not required to let them know that I'm bringing a service dog," she said.
"She was pretty adamant that she just wanted us out of there."
Ms Schmidt said Ellie played a crucial role with her mobility and independence.
"It makes me feel really disappointed because I think that education has not come as far as people think," she said, "when society is not understanding or accommodating to what I need.
"That makes it difficult. I think a lot more people think that guide dogs can be kind of treated the same way as pets. They don't realise the amount of training that's gone into the dogs. They don't realise that it's $60,000 and two years' worth of training."
Airbnb's country manager, Australia and New Zealand, Susan Wheeldon said the host's actions didn't meet the company's standards but she didn't specify what "action" would be taken in response to the incident.
"We were disappointed to hear about our guest's experience and have issued a full refund, while also taking appropriate action with the relevant host," Ms Wheeldon told ACM's The Border Mail.
"Under our policies, this guest was allowed to be accompanied by their support animal during their stay.
"Our policies prohibited them from being treated differently because of their support animal.
"We take reports of potential violations of our policies and community standards seriously, and we're grateful to our guest for bringing this to our attention."
Guide Dogs Victoria chief executive Nicky Long said it was an offence to refuse access for a guide dog and their handler and that "as a community we need to improve our understanding of the legal access rights of guide dogs".
"Guide dogs' legal access rights over-ride a policy of a hotel restaurant or ride share driver.
"Refusal is illegal."
Ms Schmidt said it was quite sad that many people did not know the rules when it came to regulations around guide dogs.
"I would say that curiosity is really important, conversations are really important," she said.
"Make sure you ask questions and try to get to know a person before you make assumptions."
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