Two Sexual Assault Survivors Spur Airbnb Arbitration Turnaround

For Sherry Dooley, Airbnb Inc.’s announcement last week that it would no longer force guests into confidential arbitration to settle claims of sexual assault was disturbing. For Natalie White, it means she may get her day in court.

Both women filed lawsuits against the company in recent months claiming they were sexually assaulted inside properties rented on Airbnb. Dooley, a 55-year-old food-truck worker from Oregon, says she was raped by an intruder in an apartment in Colima, Mexico, in 2019. White, a 23-year-old medical student from New Jersey, says she was attacked by a host who tried to tear ...