Earlier this week, Airbnb.org and Airbnb announced that Airbnb.org will offer free, temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide. These stays are being paid for through contributions to Airbnb.org from Airbnb and Brian Chesky, as well as donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.
Since the announcement, the company has received enormous interest from people within the Airbnb community and beyond looking for ways to support Airbnb and Airbnb.org’s work with partner organizations to house Afghan refugees. In many cases, Airbnb has heard from people who want to offer their space free of charge.
Speaking today, the company on its site said, “The response has been overwhelming and today we’re sharing more details on how people can help us expand on efforts to meet this unprecedented need for temporary, emergency stays for refugees arriving from Afghanistan.”
How you can help:
Host a refugee
Existing Airbnb Hosts and anyone with available space to offer can sign up to provide free or discounted stays to Afghan refugees. Airbnb waives all its fees on all refugee stays.
Donate
A lot of people, including existing Airbnb Hosts, are eager to help but, for a variety of reasons, might not be able to open their homes. Those who cannot open their homes, but are interested in supporting housing for Afghan refugees can donate to Airbnb.org.
More details on how to get involved can be found at Airbnb.org/refugees. Airbnb and Airbnb.org are covering the cost of 20,000 stays, but with your help, we can do even more.
While Airbnb.org, with Airbnb’s support, has committed to cover the cost of housing 20,000 refugees worldwide, none of this would be possible without the help of the Airbnb Host community and Airbnb.org partners—including the International Rescue Committee, HIAS, and Church World Service, among others. As the situation on the ground in Afghanistan continues to evolve, Airbnb.org will continue to work closely with resettlement agencies and partners to go where the need goes, and evolve this initiative and support as necessary.
In addition, Airbnb.org and Airbnb are also extending support to the federal government and states and cities that have expressed interest in receiving refugees to help provide stays as needed.
This week’s announcement builds on Airbnb.org’s support of refugees. Over the past four years, approximately 25,000 refugees have found temporary stays provided by the Airbnb.org community; and earlier this year, Airbnb.org announced the creation of a $25 million Refugee Fund.
“We are deeply appreciative of Hosts who have stepped up to open their homes for free or at a discount and those who have offered to donate to the Refugee Fund. This support—as well as any additional generosity—will be used to build upon Airbnb.org’s initial commitment to help meet the emergency housing needs of 20,000 refugees,” the company stated.
