In times of crisis and disaster, Airbnb partners with government agencies and regional disaster relief organizations to connect Airbnb hosts with evacuees and emergency responders, free of charge. In response to the growing threat of the California wildfires, Airbnb has activated the Open Homes program, our platform to provide free temporary housing to people displaced by natural disasters, conflict and illness.
The program has been activated in both Northern and Southern California. For the Camp Fire in Northern California, the program has been activated in Butte and Sacramento Counties. For the Woolsey and Hill Fires in Southern California, the program has been activated in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles County, and extends down to San Diego.
Hosts in these areas can provide housing – free of charge – to evacuees and emergency relief workers from now through November 29, 2018. As the need becomes more apparent, Airbnb will continue to expand the territory of Open Homes listings if and where needed, or as requested by local officials. To date, more than 2,000 hosts have graciously opened their homes to those in need and nearly 1,000 evacuees and relief workers have been able to find housing through Open Homes. Sharing an updated list on what’s currently available to those affected by the California wildfires:
Camp Fire
Northern California
Over 700 hosts and 350 people housed.
Woolsey & Hill Fires
Southern California
Over 1,300 hosts and 550 people housed.
The idea for Airbnb’s disaster relief program came from an Airbnb host in Brooklyn in 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and has since grown into a global disaster response initiative that makes it easy for Airbnb hosts to provide space for people in need when disasters strike. To date, the disaster response and relief team has responded to hundreds of disasters worldwide and during Hurricane Michael last month, roughly a thousand evacuees and emergency responders were housed by the Open Homes community.
If you have an extra room in your home or are in need of temporary housing yourself, please visit https://www.airbnb.com/welcome/evacuees/buttecounty to assist with the Camp Fire in Northern California and https://www.airbnb.com/welcome/evacuees/venturacounty for the Woolsey and Hill Fires in Southern California.