As hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flee their country because of war, Airbnb and Airbnb.org announced on 28 February 2022 the launch of a programm to provide free temporary housing for 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Home rental platform Airbnb offers support during crisis
Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, and Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and president of Airbnb.org, have issued a joint statement to governments across Europe offering Airbnb.org’s support in hosting refugees across the continent. Airbnb.org (with the support of donors and volunteer hosts) has pledged to provide emergency accommodation for 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, who continue to arrive in neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia.
Since the beginning of the conflict, many hosts have taken an interest in helping the citizens who have had to flee their homes and seek refuge in different cities and towns in western Ukraine and Europe.
The necessary support will be financed by the company itself, the Airbnb.org Refugee Support Fund and by the hosts themselves. This action is yet another example of the enormous solidarity that companies and individuals, along with NGOs and public services are offering to those who have had to leave their lives behind in the main cities of Ukraine.
The work of Airbnb.org, an independent, non-profit organization that has been active since 2012, has helped to provide accommodation to thousands of refugees in previous years, most recently to more than 20,000 Afghan refugees.
The foundation works closely with other associations on site and with the UN Refugee Agency to ensure support and assistance to anyone in this situation. To date, it has more than 4,000 hosts and donors who have contributed to ease moments of crisis in various conflicts and natural disasters around the world.
To learn more about Airbnb.org’s mission and how you can help as a host to support Ukrainian refugees, visit Airbnb.org
