Newsroom

Outreach to governments in Europe to support refugees fleeing Ukraine

By ·
·

Earlier today, Airbnb and Airbnb.org sent the following update to governments across Europe on our goal to offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine:

Dear Leader,

So many lives have been devastated by the unfolding scenes of violence in Ukraine. This conflict will likely produce one of the largest humanitarian crises since World War II.

At this moment of global crisis, the entire community has a responsibility to step up and use its expertise and resources to support those in need. Airbnb and Airbnb.org — an independent charitable organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in moments of crisis – have long supported refugees around the world by helping connect them to short-term housing made available by a global community of Hosts. 

Earlier this month, Airbnb.org announced that it 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. 

Today, we want to update you on this important work and the outpouring of support we have seen from everyday Europeans who are opening their doors to support refugees fleeing Ukraine:

  • Since the launch of Airbnb.org’s activation to support refugees fleeing Ukraine, more than 1,000 people are signing up every day to share their homes with refugees.
  • As of March 14, more than 36,800 Hosts are signed up through Airbnb.org to offer their homes to refugees around the world.
  • This includes more than 22,300 new Airbnb.org Hosts, who have signed up in just the past two weeks (from 28 Feb – 14 Mar).
  • In Europe in the last two weeks alone, Airbnb.org has entered new collaborations and partnerships with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the German government to connect people fleeing from Ukraine to free, short-term housing. Airbnb.org is working to establish additional partnerships and is in active discussions with dozens of international and regional NGOs that are active on the ground. 

We have been overwhelmed — in the best way — by the positive response to this initiative. We also continue to need help to meet this goal, and the greatest need we have is more people who can offer their homes in key countries, including France, Germany, Hungary,   Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Romania and the UK.

We continue to welcome your collaboration and guidance on how we can best meet emergency accommodations and support needs in your countries, including engaging more partner organizations that support refugees, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, or how they identify.

We also welcome your support to share advice on how the residents of your country can support the crisis in Ukraine. We have launched a new landing page – airbnb.org/help-ukraine – for people who are interested in helping this effort. People can sign up to host or donate to Airbnb.org. You do not need to be an existing Airbnb Host to sign up.

Airbnb and Airbnb.org have been supporting refugees and other displaced people for almost a decade, in collaboration with governments and organizations across the world. Over the past five years, Airbnb and Airbnb.org have connected approximately 55,000 refugees and asylees to temporary housing through Airbnb.org partners. Since August, around 24,000 Afghan refugees received free, temporary housing through Airbnb.org, and in 2020, Airbnb Hosts around the world opened their doors to tens of thousands of frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19.

We are grateful for the collaboration of governments across Europe at this challenging time, and thank you for your continued leadership. Should you have any follow-up questions or further ideas for collaboration, we would be delighted to discuss them with you. 

Sincerely, 

Emmanuel Marill, Airbnb Regional Director, EMEA

Katherine Woo, Executive Director of Airbnb.org
Read more about: Ukraine

About Airbnb 

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over
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 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.

Download logo assets