Airbnb will host 100,000 refugees from Ukraine for free, CEO says

Countries are being urged to support displaced Ukrainians as about 370,000 Ukrainians flee to central Europe

(Getty Images)

Airbnb will provide free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine, the company announced.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky shared the announcement on Twitter on 28 February, where he said that the home rental company will be working with its hosts to provide the free accomodations to those in need amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Airbnb and Airbnb.org are working with our hosts to house up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine, for free,” Chesky said in a tweet on Monday. Airbnb.org is the company’s nonprofit organisation, which facilitates temporary stays for people in moments of crisis.

Chesky - along with Airbnb.org chairman Joe Gebbi and Airbnb chief strategy officer Nathan Blecharczyk - also sent letters to leaders across Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Romania offering to help house the refugees. The company said in a statement that “it will work closely with governments to best support the specific needs in each country, including by providing longer-term stays”.

The CEO said that these stays will be funded by Airbnb, Inc, donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and by the generosity of hosts through Airbnb.org.

In a statement to The Independent, an Airbnb spokesperson added that individuals do not need to be existing hosts on Airbnb to offer their homes exclusively through Airbnb.org.

About 370,000 people have fled the country since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to an estimate by the United Nations. Since the attacks, nearby central and eastern European countries have provided food and shelter to the thousands of Ukrainians arriving across their borders.

The UN predicts that up to 5m people could be displaced by the conflict, and called on countries to stand ready to support the thousands of displaced Ukrainians.