Airbnb and Airbnb.org are announcing that Airbnb.org will offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. These stays will be funded by Airbnb, Inc., donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and the generosity of Hosts through Airbnb.org.
Earlier today, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and Airbnb.org Chairman Joe Gebbia, and Airbnb Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk sent letters to leaders across Europe, starting with the leaders of Poland, Germany, Hungary and Romania, offering support in welcoming refugees within their borders. While Airbnb.org is committing to facilitate short-term housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine, it will work closely with governments to best support the specific needs in each country, including by providing longer-term stays.
Today’s announcement builds on the ongoing work of Airbnb.org – an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in moments of crisis – to support refugees and other displaced people around the world. Last week, the organization announced that it has provided housing to 21,300 Afghan refugees, and it set a new goal of providing free, temporary housing to another 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, and other regions. Airbnb.org’s offer to provide housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine is in addition to this broader effort.
From our partners:
Over the past five years, Airbnb and Airbnb.org have connected more than 54,000 refugees and asylees – including from Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan – to temporary housing through Airbnb.org partners. Last year, Airbnb.org announced the creation of its Refugee Fund and has galvanized more than 4,000 donors to further support its work with refugees and asylum seekers worldwide.
Along with supporting refugees, Airbnb.org has nearly a decade of experience in providing emergency accommodations to those in need. In 2020, Hosts on Airbnb around the world opened their doors to tens of thousands of frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19, including healthcare professionals and relief workers, in partnership with the NHS in the UK, Mexican Red Cross, 1199SEIU and New York State, the City of New Orleans, Los Angeles County and organizations in Italy and France. Last year, Airbnb.org also activated its emergency response program to provide those affected by the devastating floods across Western Europe.
We know that Hosts and guests on Airbnb around the world will be eager to stand up and assist this massive effort to help those fleeing Ukraine. In the coming days, Airbnb and Airbnb.org will share additional details on how Hosts and the broader community can support this initiative, including by offering free or discounted stays. In the meantime, learn more about Airbnb.org’s work to open homes in times of crisis at Airbnb.org.
Airbnb.org will work directly through nonprofits on the ground, who are responsible for booking and coordinating stays for refugee guests, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, or how they identify. As Airbnb.org works to establish partners in each country, refugees and asylum seekers fleeing Ukraine who are in need of immediate support can get connected to available resources from the UN Refugee Agency.
Airbnb is also dedicated to the safety of Hosts and guests in Ukraine, and we are actively working to support our local community.
About Airbnb
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals across over 220 countries and regions. Travel on Airbnb keeps more of the financial benefits of tourism with the people and places that make it happen. Airbnb has generated billions of dollars in earnings for Hosts, most of whom are individuals listing the homes in which they live. Among Hosts who report their gender, more than half are women, and one in five employed Hosts are either teachers or healthcare workers. Travel on Airbnb also has generated more than $4 billion in tax revenue around the world. Airbnb has helped advance more than 1,000 regulatory frameworks for short-term rentals, including in 80% of our top 200 geographies. In late 2020, to support our continued expansion and diversification, we launched the City Portal to provide governments with a one-stop shop that supports data sharing and compliance with local registration rules. We continue to invest in innovations and tools to support our ongoing work with governments around the world to advance travel that best serves communities.
About Airbnb.org
Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.’s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org’s charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and most recently, frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.
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