Airbnb Removes Morocco Label from Western Sahara Listings Amid Geopolitical Pressure

An update that changes almost everything. From now on, cities in the Sahara, such as Laâyoune, Dakhla or Boujdour, "are no longer listed by Airbnb as being located in Morocco," says Africa Intelligence. We will no longer read "Laâyoune, Morocco," "Boujdour, Morocco" and "Dakhla, Morocco."

This change follows a correspondence that Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) sent to the company on June 13, 2025 to alert them of the "geographical errors" in their database and also to urge them to completely stop hosting ads in Western Sahara. "Airbnb contains serious geographical errors that do not correspond to UN maps or the decisions of international courts on the issue of Western Sahara," the letter explained.

The modification made to the Airbnb website has been welcomed by Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW). "International courts have clearly indicated that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and the Airbnb website is now more in line with these decisions. We welcome this first step by Airbnb and hope that Hotels.com and Expedia will follow suit. However, the main problem remains: ads are still being offered in the occupied territory," said Erik Hagen of Western Sahara Resource Watch.

WSRW has sent similar correspondence to the American companies Expedia Group Inc and Booking Holdings Inc on June 13, 2025. These two companies market travel and accommodation in Western Sahara, presenting the destinations as being located in "Morocco."