Airbnb offers free, short-term housing to fleeing Ukraine refugees

Source: Yaroslav Romanenko via Unsplash

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.

The announcement builds on the ongoing work of Airbnb.org – an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in moments of crisis – to support refugees and other displaced people around the world. Last week, the organisation 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.

Over the past five years, Airbnb and Airbnb.org have connected more than 54,000 refugees and asylees – including those 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.