The short version
- We aim for WCAG 2.2 Level AA across the site, the dashboard and the guest pages.
- We are partially conformant today: most of it meets the standard, and the known gaps are listed below.
- Tell us at accessibility@hostbnb.example.com and we will reply within five business days.
- A guest page is the surface we hold to the highest bar — someone may be reading it at midnight, in a strange building, on a phone.
This summary is a reading aid and is not part of the agreement. Where it differs from the text below, the text below is what applies.
Contents+
A guest page often gets read in the worst possible conditions: late at night, in an unfamiliar place, on a small screen, by someone tired and in a hurry. That is exactly when accessibility stops being a checkbox and starts being whether a person can get into the building. We take it seriously for that reason before any legal one.
The standard we hold ourselves to
We target WCAG 2.2 Level AA for the marketing site, the host dashboard, and every guest page published through Hostbnb. We also work to meet the accessibility requirements of the European Accessibility Act and, in the United States, the standards courts apply under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Current status: partially conformant
"Partially conformant" means most of the service meets the standard but some parts do not yet. We would rather say that than claim a conformance we have not independently verified. The known gaps are below, and we update this page as they close.
What works today
- Every interactive control is reachable and operable with a keyboard alone, and the focus indicator is always visible.
- Pages are built from semantic HTML with a single sensible heading order, so a screen reader can navigate by headings.
- Text and interface colours are chosen to meet the AA contrast ratios in both the light and dark palettes.
- The layout reflows to 320px and to 200% zoom without horizontal scrolling or lost content.
- Images hosts upload carry alternative text, and decorative ones are hidden from assistive technology.
- Forms have real labels, and an error says what went wrong and how to fix it rather than just turning red.
- Nothing auto-plays, flashes, or moves in a way that could trigger a seizure or vestibular reaction.
- The guest page is designed mobile-first, so the primary surface is the well-tested one.
Known gaps
We list these because a statement that admits nothing is not a statement anyone can trust.
- No independent audit yet. Our conformance claim rests on internal testing. An external audit is planned, and this page will name the auditor and the date when it is done.
- Host-authored content. We cannot guarantee that text a host writes is written clearly, or that a photo they upload has useful alternative text. The editor prompts for it; it cannot enforce quality.
- Third-party embeds. Embedded maps and the Stripe payment form are built by others and we do not control their accessibility.
- AI concierge answers. Generated text is not reviewed for reading level before it is shown.
- Uploaded documents. A PDF a host attaches is as accessible as the host made it.
For hosts: making your own page accessible
- Write alternative text that says what matters in the photo — "the lockbox, to the right of the green door" beats "entrance".
- Describe access honestly: steps, lift, door widths, thresholds, bathroom layout. A guest who needs to know needs to know before they book, not on arrival.
- Write short sentences and put the important thing first. It helps a machine translation as much as a screen reader.
- Don't rely on colour or an emoji alone to carry meaning.
- Give a phone number or a messaging route as well as the chat. Not everyone can use a chat interface.
Tell us when something blocks you
Write to accessibility@hostbnb.example.com with the page, what you were trying to do, and what got in the way — plus your browser and any assistive technology, if you know it. We reply within five business days, and if the fix will take longer we will tell you when to expect it and offer another way to get what you needed in the meantime.
If our answer does not resolve it, you can escalate to the accessibility enforcement body in your country. We would much rather you came back to us first — a report from someone who actually hit the problem is the most useful thing we get.