Airbnb has removed the listing of a former slave cabin on the Belmont Plantation in Greenville, Mississippi, which was rented for $165 a night after a viral TikTok user called it “atrocity”.
The Panther Burn Cottage @ Belmont Plantation is listed as an ‘1830s slave cabin’ which was also used as a ‘tenant sharecropper’s cabin’.
Wynton Yates, 34, posted a now-viral video – it has so far garnered almost 3 million views – on TikTok about the property, saying it was anything but quaint and charming.
“The history of slavery in this country is constantly being denied and now being mocked by turning it into a luxurious vacation spot,” Yates said in the clip.
The Panther Burn Cottage @ Belmont Plantation [pictured] is listed on Airbnb, as an “1830s slave cabin” that was also used as a “tenant sharecroppers cabin”. The structure has also been a “medical office for local farmers and their families”
The stately Belmont Plantation, established in 1857, is the last antebellum mansion along the river in the Mississippi Delta, spanning over 9,000 square feet. The house and grounds have undergone extensive restoration, and the space is used for weddings, events, tours, bed and breakfasts and corporate retreats, according to its website.
‘It’s not OK. This is an 1830s slave cabin on Airbnb,’ Yates told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. “How is it OK in someone’s mind to rent this as a bed and breakfast, a place where human beings were kept as slaves?”
The one-story house can sleep up to two people, with one bedroom and a private bathroom – there’s no mention of a kitchen – adding that the former slave quarters had been renovated with modern amenities, including Netflix. The property had a 4.97 stars and 68 reviews.
Airbnb quickly removed the listing from its platform and apologized for any “trauma” or “heartbreak” caused.
“We have removed the Mississippi listing in question and are currently in the process of removing listings known to include former slave quarters in the United States,” Haven Thorn, a spokesperson for the United States, told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. ‘Airbnb.
He said “properties that once housed slaves have no place on Airbnb.”
“We apologize for any trauma or heartache created by the presence of this listing, and others like it, and that we did not act sooner to resolve this issue,” Thorn said.
He added: “We are working with experts to develop new policies that address other properties associated with slavery.”
Two different angles of the bedroom decorated in a traditional aesthetic
A view of the private bathroom located in the slave cabin which has since been removed from the Airbnb platform
The cabin is on estate property located in Greenville, Mississippi. The population was 34,400, according to a 2010 census. The structure is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and cultivation known as the Mississippi Delta
Yates, a civil rights and entertainment lawyer, told DailyMail.com he became aware of the property listing when his The brother’s friend, who was looking for Airbnbs in the Greenville area, came across the ad.
He said he was “appalled” by it and the conversation that started in a chat between friends quickly turned into a family conversation which later sparked the TikTok video.
“It’s the story of many black Americans when we see something like this, we have nowhere to tell anyone,” Yates said.
“We feel stuck and we just have to endure the experience of seeing something like this and that’s why I did the TikTok. The idea of renting out a slave shack takes it to a whole new level.
Cabin owner Brad Hauser, 52, said The Washington Post that he took possession of the property in July, saying in a statement that even though the building had been a doctor’s office and not a quarters for slaves, it was ‘the previous owner’s decision to market the building as the place where slaves once slept.’
Hauser, who is white, said he “strongly opposes” the previous owner’s decision and pledged to provide guests with a “historically accurate depiction” of life at the Belmont Plantation.
“I’m not interested in making money from slavery,” said Hauser, who apologized for the list “insulting African Americans whose ancestors were slaves.”
Yates, who lives in New Orleans grew up in Georgia, said her family has Louisiana history.
A 1936 snapshot of the 9,000 square foot Belmont Plantation mansion
“When my friends had weddings, events, business retreats on the plantations, I grew up around the romance of the plantations which is not new, but continuing that romance of slavery by renovating a log cabin. ‘slaves and then renting it out as a bed and breakfast is a new level of atrocity.’
Yates said most people who contacted him after the video was posted agreed with his view.
He said his intention was not to contact Airbnb or the property’s host and didn’t seem overly eager for them to respond, but he said “words are not enough.” They have to follow through on the statement they made that they are going to put policies in place.
The Belmont Plantation, established in 1857, is the last antebellum mansion along the river in the Mississippi Delta, its website says. It stands at over 9,000 square feet. It is listed as National Register Historic Property.
Comments are closed.