Comment The Mississippi Airbnb listing had seemingly everything a traveler could ask for in a bed and breakfast: a suite with exquisite antique furniture, soft linens, a brand new bathroom, and access to Netflix via smart TV. But there was something else about Panther Burn Cottage that the luxury listing proudly touted: The property was an “1830s slave house” that housed slaves on a plantation in Greenville, Miss. Airbnb faced backlash in the days after a TikTok video about the listing by Wynton Yates, an entertainment and civil rights attorney in New Orleans, went viral. “The history of slavery in this country is constantly being denied,” Yates said in Friday’s video, “and now it’s being mocked when it’s turned into a luxury vacation spot.” Yates, who is Black, added, “This is not okay in the slightest.” Now, Airbnb has apologized and noted on Monday that it is “removing listings known to include former slaves in the United States.” “Properties that formerly housed slaves have no place on Airbnb,” Airbnb spokesman Ben Bright said in a statement. “We apologize for any trauma or distress created by the presence of this listing, and others like it, and for not acting sooner to address this issue.” Brad Houser, who took ownership of the Greenville property last month, said in a statement to the Washington Post that although the building was a dispensary and not a slave facility, it was “the previous owner’s decision to market the building as the place where slaves once slept.” Houser, who is White, said he “vehemently opposed” the previous owner’s decision and promised to give visitors a “historically accurate portrayal” of life at Belmont Plantation. “I’m not interested in making money off of slavery,” said Houser, 52, who apologized for the listing “insulting African-Americans whose ancestors were slaves.” It’s unclear how many Airbnb listings feature properties in the United States that once housed some of the millions of enslaved blacks. Several properties in Georgia and Louisiana that were billed as slave accommodations have been removed from Airbnb’s website, according to Mic. ‘These are our ancestors’: Descendants of enslaved people are changing plantation tourism Yates, 34, told The Post on Tuesday that he first learned of the Greenville listing in a group text message. Yates said his brother’s friend was looking for rental properties in Greenville, about 100 miles northwest of Columbia, SC, and found the Panther Burn Cottage was the only listing available. So when Yates’ brother shared the entry on the family’s group text Friday, the New Orleans lawyer had the same thought: “This is crazy.” “Seeing plantation weddings and plantation events and suburbs and subdivisions named after plantations and plantation owners is something that has occupied me every day of my life. But this was a new level of disrespect for what slavery was,” Yates said. “Seeing the space where the enslaved people lived being renovated into a luxury space and rented out just took my breath away.” Snapshots of the listing show the cabin sits next to a 9,000-square-foot mansion that has nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Built in 1857, the opulent structure is “the last remaining mansion standing before the storm” in the Mississippi Delta, according to the listing. The listing then goes into the history surrounding the much smaller cottage. “This particular structure, the Panther Burn Cabin, is an 1830s slave cabin from the surviving Panther Burn Plantation south of Belmont,” the listing states. “It has also been used as a lodger’s cabin and as a dispensary for local farmers and their families to visit the plantation doctor.” The previous owner noted in the listing that the cabin was moved to Belmont Plantation in 2017 and “meticulously restored,” while retaining some of the cypress planks used in the original 1830 construction. Panther Burn Cottage was advertised on the Airbnb listing as “the last surviving structure from the legendary Panther Burn Plantation’. Despite the history of slaves living in the cabin, Yates pointed out in his TikTok video how it hasn’t stopped guests who stayed there from leaving glowing reviews of the “unforgettable” listing. “Enjoyed everything about our stay,” commented a woman in July 2021. “We stayed in the cabin and it was historic but stylish,” wrote another last October. “What a great place to step into history, southern hospitality and stay a night or two!” said a guest in March. The contrast between the Panther Burn Cottage that housed about 80 enslaved blacks in the 1800s and the whites who today use it as a graceful, luxurious vacation spot is “explosive,” Yates said. “It was built by slaves and lived through slaves, where they died of overwork, infectious diseases, hunger and distress. They died in these spaces,” Yates told The Post. “It wasn’t a comfortable situation.” After Yates’ TikTok video about “slavery” was viewed more than 2.6 million times, Airbnb said it is not only removing all listings promoted as former slave quarters, but is also “working with experts to develop new policies relating to other property connected with slavery.” Houser told The Post that when he initially inquired about the building behind Belmont, the previous owner told him it was not a slave cabin and was not advertised as such. He said he was misled about the cabin and noted how Airbnb and Booking.com have suspended advertising contracts with Belmont “pending further investigation.” “I intend to do everything I can to right a terrible wrong and hopefully reclaim the Airbnb ad so that Belmont can contribute to the more urgent demand for the truth about the history of not only the South but the entire nation,” Hauser said. he said in a statement. Yates said he doesn’t know if Airbnb’s apology will amount to avoiding situations like Panther Burn Cottage in the future. When asked what he would say to property owners with buildings that once housed enslaved blacks, Yates had a clear message: “Stop romanticizing the experience of slavery.” “Because that’s just what it is,” he said. “This is profit from slavery.”