On January 4, we terminated an employee for unethical behavior. This individual had been working with us remotely from outside the United States and, during his employment, had access to certain partner platforms, vendor systems, and short-term rental accounts as part of his development responsibilities.
Immediately following the termination, we implemented comprehensive security measures, including revoking all known access and rotating credentials across all systems, including our VRBO account.
Despite these actions, early this morning the former employee unlawfully gained access to our VRBO account and inserted discriminatory and inflammatory language into several property descriptions. We will not repeat the language used. It was false, offensive, and completely unacceptable. The affected listings were promptly taken offline.
We are publishing this statement as a matter of responsibility and transparency, to properly inform anyone who may have viewed the modified listings before they were removed.
StellarStay does not, and has never, engaged in discriminatory practices. We operate strictly in compliance with U.S. federal and state laws, including fair housing and anti-discrimination regulations, as well as our own publicly documented policies available at:
https://www.stellarstay.com/help/guest-responsibilities-booking-policies
These policies are applied consistently and equally to all guests, without regard to race, religion, nationality, or any other protected characteristic.
Given the seriousness of this incident and the fact that the individual responsible is a foreign national who worked with us remotely, we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are filing a formal report with the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and are cooperating fully with federal authorities as they assess potential criminal violations and any required international coordination.
StellarStay is built on values of respect, integrity, and inclusivity. We proudly welcome and do business with all individuals and remain fully committed to providing a professional, safe, and discrimination-free experience for every guest and partner.
We sincerely thank our clients, partners, and community for their continued trust and support.
