Airbnb raises more than $40 million for Ukrainian refugees

• Airbnb and its community have raised $40 million for Ukrainians.
• Earlier this month, people from across the world booked in Ukrainian cities without the intention of checking in.
• Many Airbnb hosts in the U.S and Europe have also opened their properties to Ukrainians. 

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A report from Good News Network earlier this month revealed that from March 2 to March 3, people from all over the world booked 61,000 nights in Ukrainian cities through Airbnb, with no intention of checking in or rescheduling.

It was part of a clever social media initiative to send money into besieged cities where relief drops or supply trucks are unable to access, and it resulted in $1.9 million being raised for Ukrainians in just 48 hours.

Airbnb bookings in Ukraine have increased since that day, with 434,000 rooms booked and $15 million raised.

Haven Thorn, a company spokesperson, said, “We are so humbled by the inspiring generosity of our community during this moment of crisis.” 

The CEO of the company also responded on Twitter.

In 48 hours, 61,406 nights have been booked in Ukraine. That's $1.9M going to Hosts in need

Such a cool idea from our community. Thank you https://t.co/MEitgKB5Eo— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) March 4, 2022

Apart from this ingenious fundraising, Airbnb.org, the company’s non-profit arm, has received over $5.2 million in small-dollar direct gifts from over 59,000 individual donors in 92 countries in the last two weeks.

Airbnb also immediately stated that it will temporarily accommodate 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in Europe and North America.

More than 21,000 Airbnb hosts, including 14,000 in Europe and 4,000 in the United States, have signed up to open their Airbnb-listed properties to Ukrainians in response to this kindness.

The Utah Jazz Foundation is also working with Airbnb.org to provide approximately 32,200 nights of temporary accommodation to refugees fleeing Ukraine, which is exactly 200 percent of the capacity of their Vivint Arena home stadium.

“I cannot begin to express my thanks to the Utah Jazz Foundation for their support of Airbnb.org’s work,” Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder and chairman of Airbnb.org, said.

Airbnb workers and co-founders have donated a total of $16,625,000 to an aid fund to help pay for these refugees’ housing, food, and other essentials, with one of them appearing on Ellen DeGeneres to announce an additional $10 million matching commitment.

They said they were moved by the community’s response and wanted to contribute.

If you’d like to help, simply register on the Airbnb.org Help Ukraine website.

Source: Good News Network