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Airbnb V-MIL

MILITARY AUDIT UPDATED 2026-06-11
V-MIL Score 0.00 /10 B Airbnb — BDS-1000 634
V-MIL 0.00

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream — see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

V-MIL Domain Audit: Airbnb Inc

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

No public evidence identified of direct contracts, tender awards, framework agreements, or memoranda of understanding between Airbnb and the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Israel Prison Service, or Israel Border Police 1. Airbnb does not appear in SIBAT defence export directories or Israeli defence procurement registries as a contracted supplier 1. No corporate press releases, government announcements, or trade press reports were found documenting defence cooperation, joint ventures, or partnership agreements between Airbnb and Israeli defence entities 1. Airbnb’s platform operates as a marketplace connecting private hosts with guests; it does not function as a defence contractor or equipment supplier, which limits the applicability of this category to the company’s business model 1. The UN OHCHR Business and Human Rights Database lists Airbnb under activity category (e) – providing services (tourism) to Israeli settlements – not as a defence sector actor 2.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

No public evidence identified of Airbnb manufacturing or marketing ruggedised, tactical, mil-spec, or defence-grade variants of its platform or services 3. Airbnb’s business model is a civilian consumer marketplace; it does not produce hardware products with dual-use potential 3. No publicly known export licence applications, end-user certificates, or government export control reviews were found relating to Airbnb’s sales to Israeli defence or security end-users 3.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified of Airbnb equipment, vehicles, or machinery being used in construction, maintenance, or demolition activity within Israeli settlements, the separation barrier, military installations, or occupied territories 3. Airbnb is a digital platform; it does not own, lease, or operate physical construction equipment or heavy machinery 3. No verified contracts were found for the construction, maintenance, or expansion of checkpoints, detention facilities, military bases, the separation barrier, or settlement infrastructure involving Airbnb 3.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No public evidence identified of Airbnb providing components, sub-systems, raw materials, or specialist manufacturing services to Israeli defence prime contractors including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael, or Israel Military Industries 3. No joint development programmes, co-production agreements, technology transfer arrangements, or licensed manufacturing agreements were found between Airbnb and Israeli defence firms 3. Airbnb’s platform is a service marketplace; it does not operate in the defence supply chain for physical components or systems 3. The UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s July 2025 report (A/HRC/59/23) cites Airbnb at paragraphs 70–71 for settlement listing growth, not for any defence supply chain involvement 4. Vanguard and BlackRock are documented as institutional investors holding positions in both Airbnb and Israeli defence companies (Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar), but Airbnb itself has no supply chain integration with defence primes 5.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified of verified contracts for Airbnb to provide catering, transport, fuel supply, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications, or other support services to IDF bases, military training facilities, or detention centres 1. One organic platform use was identified: Bayit Brigade, a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, provides subsidised housing to IDF lone soldiers by recruiting Airbnb hosts to offer rentals 6. Bayit Brigade is not a direct Airbnb customer; it uses the platform as a host network 6. One individual Airbnb listing (“The Social Space,” 62 Yarkon Street, Tel Aviv) explicitly restricts bookings to “in-service Israeli soldiers and reservists” and requires a valid soldier’s certificate 7. This is a private host listing, not a corporate Airbnb contract with the IDF 7. No shipping, freight, or port handling contracts were found relating to Israeli defence logistics 1.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified of Airbnb acting as a prime contractor or licensed manufacturer of lethal platforms supplied to Israeli forces 3. No public evidence identified of Airbnb supplying ammunition, explosive ordnance, or munitions precursor materials 3. No public evidence identified of Airbnb’s involvement in strategic defence platforms such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, fighter aircraft, main battle tanks, warships, or ballistic missile systems 3. No public evidence identified of Airbnb supplying critical sub-systems for lethal or strategic systems 3.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No publicly known government decisions to grant, deny, suspend, or revoke export licences for Airbnb products to Israeli military end-users were found 3. No investigations, citations, or enforcement actions were found relating to Airbnb’s compliance with arms embargoes or export control regimes 3. Legal challenges have been documented: Al-Haq, GLAN, and Sadaka filed criminal complaints against Airbnb Ireland UC in Ireland (August 2023) and UK (National Crime Agency filing) targeting alleged corporate complicity in Israeli settlement activity 89. In November 2024, Irish Gardaí (GNECB) declined to investigate; on 16 October 2025, the Irish High Court quashed this declination, ruling the Gardaí made an error of law – the first court case concerning alleged corporate complicity in Israeli crimes to conclude in favour of plaintiffs 10. GLAN filed a US preservation letter on the Airbnb parent entity; full US proceedings status is not confirmed in available sources 8. Israeli class-action lawsuits were filed by settlement hosts following Airbnb’s November 2018 delisting announcement, contributing to the April 2019 reversal 11. A Heritage Foundation lawsuit against Airbnb concerned excluded shareholder proposals (2025); Airbnb provided copies of the stockholder complaint referencing Israel/Palestine-related proposals 12.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

NGO and academic reports: Who Profits maintains a dedicated Airbnb profile documenting listings in 56 West Bank settlements and 18 Golan Heights settlements 13. AFSC Investigate maintains an Airbnb dossier documenting settlement listings and campaign activity 14. The Guardian (Joubin et al., February 2025) published an interactive investigation identifying 321 properties (350 listings) in West Bank settlements as of August 2024, including 18 in unauthorised outposts 15. Business & Human Rights Centre summarised the Guardian investigation findings 16. The Albanese A/HRC/59/23 report (§§70–71) references Airbnb’s settlement listing growth (139 in 2016 to 350 in 2025) and characterises the donation scheme as “humanitarian-washing” 417. The 2025 UN OHCHR update lists 158 companies total, including Airbnb alongside Booking.com, Expedia, and TripAdvisor 17.

Boycott and divestment campaigns: Airbnb has been the subject of organised BDS campaigns specifically related to its settlement operations, led by Who Profits, AFSC, Al-Haq, Don’t Buy Into Occupation, and related coalitions 13148. Florida and Texas added Airbnb to anti-BDS boycott lists over its West Bank settlement policy 18.

Corporate response: In November 2018, Airbnb announced removal of West Bank settlement listings 11. In April 2019, Airbnb reversed the delisting decision following Israeli class-action lawsuits; simultaneously announced it would donate profits from West Bank settlement listings to humanitarian causes (redirection to Institute for Economics and Peace, a Sydney-based think tank) 1119. Airbnb has refused to disclose the dollar amount donated to the Institute for Economics and Peace 15. No public statement was found revising settlement policy following the July 2024 ICJ advisory opinion or November 2024 ICC arrest warrants; listings continue unchanged 8. In March 2025, Airbnb publicly distanced itself from Joe Gebbia’s DOGE involvement, stating he acts “in his personal capacity” 20.

Controlling principals analysis: Brian Chesky (Co-Founder, CEO, Chairman) holds dual-class shares (Class B, 20 votes each) providing approximately 33.4% economic interest and majority voting control 21. Joe Gebbia (Co-Founder, Board Member) holds approximately 21.5% stake via Class B shares and joined the Tesla board in September 2022; he joined DOGE in February 2025, with Airbnb stating he acts “in his personal capacity” 2021. Nathan Blecharczyk (Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer) holds approximately 29.4% stake via Class B shares 21. No defence-industry board roles, reservist fund affiliations, or Israeli defence philanthropy were identified for the founders in available sources 1. Vanguard (largest Airbnb institutional investor, approximately 8.73%, approximately 37.45 million shares) is also the second-largest institutional investor in Elbit Systems (2%) and Caterpillar (9.8%), and the largest in Lockheed Martin (9.2%) 521. BlackRock (second-largest Airbnb institutional investor, approximately 4.58%) is also the third-largest in Lockheed Martin (7.2%) and Caterpillar (7.5%) 5. These dual holdings are documented in the Albanese database of companies named in A/HRC/59/23 5.

Settlement nexus: Airbnb Inc. is listed in the UN OHCHR settlement database under activity category (e) – providing services (tourism) to Israeli settlements 2. Airbnb has 350 listings (321 properties) in West Bank settlements as of August 2024, up from 139 in 2016 415. Listings were identified across 56 named West Bank settlements including Avnei Hefetz, Kdumim, Itamar, Ariel, Ma’ale Levona, Eli, Shiloh, Ofra, Har Adar, Matityahu, Giv’at Ze’ev, and others 13. Eighteen listings were identified in unauthorised outposts (illegal under both international law and Israeli law) 15. Listings were also identified in East Jerusalem neighbourhoods and Golan Heights settlements (15+ settlements) 1314. Airbnb Ireland UC is the contractual entity for hosts in “Israel” and “occupied Palestinian territory” [^22]. Listings continue post-July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion and post-November 2024 ICC arrest warrants with no policy revision identified 8.

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://www.ohchr.org/en/business/bhr-database ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025 ↩ ↩2

  3. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/3815 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15

  4. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/airbnb ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/feb/27/seized-settled-let-how-airbnb-and-bookingcom-help-israelis-make-money-from-stolen-palestinian-land ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47881163 ↩ ↩2

  7. https://glanlaw.org/news/multi-jurisdictional-legal-action-over-listings-in-illegal-israeli-settlements-targets-airbnb ↩ ↩2

  8. https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/6069.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  9. https://news.airbnb.com/listings-in-disputed-regions ↩

  10. https://investors.airbnb.com/press-releases/news-details/2025/Airbnb-provides-copies-of-stockholder-complaint-and-alleged-stockholder-proposals/default.aspx ↩

  11. https://law4palestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Database-of-Companies-Named-in-the-UN-Special-Rapporteurs-Report-on-the-Economy-of-Occupation-and-Genocide.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/03/05/airbnb-distances-billionaire-cofounder-doge-musk ↩

  13. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/israelopt-airbnb-and-bookingcom-helping-israelis-to-make-money-from-stolen-palestinian-land ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  14. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3175 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07797907 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  16. https://glanlaw.org/cases/multi-jurisdiction-legal-actions-target-airbnb-listings-in-illegal-israeli-settlements/ ↩

  17. https://www.bayitbrigade.org ↩ ↩2

  18. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1536739010468813316 ↩

  19. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/26/un-lists-150-firms-tied-to-illegal-israeli-settlements ↩

  20. https://www.companieshistory.com/who-owns-airbnb ↩ ↩2

  21. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/286695-florida-set-to-sanction-airbnb-over-west-bank-policy ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4