Inside Airbnb’s high-profile effort to house Ukrainian refugees: ‘At best, it’s badly worded. At worst, it’s misleading and not enough care is being taken.’
Among the U.S. companies attempting to help Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s military assault on their country, Airbnb Inc. has been one of the most prominent.
Like other gig-economy companies, Airbnb is a platform that facilitates transactions between different parties, and that approach is reflected in its refugee housing program as well — the program relies on Airbnb hosts to open their homes to refugees, nonprofit partners that register refugees and book Airbnb stays for them, and members of the public who donate money to help pay for the refugees’ stays.
‘We don’t deal with individual cases’ Anna Samardak left her Kyiv home on Feb. 25 for Uzhgorod, and thought Airbnb’s offer of free housing sounded like a great option when she decided to then leave Uzhgorod with her mother and two young sons after Russian bombs started exploding nearby. She had used Airbnb in the past to book vacation travel, and had positive experiences with the platform.
At one point in the exchange, an Airbnb “Helpbot” messaged Samardak, asking, “Do you still need help?” “Yes I still need help,” replied Samardak, who asked again for a list of nonprofits working with Airbnb.org. An Airbnb support-desk representative referred her to previous messages in the exchange, and said that was all the information they could provide.
Some Airbnb hosts say they can’t afford to house refugees Meanwhile, some regular Airbnb hosts feel too much is being asked of them in the refugee-housing program. Airbnb hosts who volunteer to list their accommodations for free for Ukrainian refugees won’t have to pay the usual 3% service fee to Airbnb, but they aren’t compensated beyond that.
Grimes said she would consider housing Ukrainian refugees, but wouldn’t be able to do it in the high season because it would cost her too much money.Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky did acknowledge on Twitter TWTR that free stays for Ukrainian refugees will be funded by the company, its nonprofit, and “through the generosity of hosts.”
As for the fleeing Ukrainians who’ve been frustrated to learn that they need to register first with a refugee agency, Airbnb spokeswoman Liz DeBold Fusco noted that the company has said publicly that it doesn’t directly provide housing to refugees. “They really are the gold standard in how private companies can make a real difference,” O’Mara Vignarajah said of Airbnb. “There’s no telling how many lives we can change for the better when we harness the power of public-private partnerships.”
Another Airbnb nonprofit partner says its partnership with the company helped provide temporary housing last year for 5,000 refugees, including those from Afghanistan, in places like the U.S., Greece, Colombia, and Mexico. “We still have lots of other people to take care of,” she said, adding that her organization gets “hundreds of calls a day” from Afghan refugees looking for housing, seeking help with deposits for rent and more.
The hosts either donate their space for free or at a discount, but donating a space doesn’t necessarily count as a tax-deductible charitable donation, Airbnb.org says on its website. Chesky announced during his mid-March appearance on “The Ellen Degeneres Show” that the trio would match up to $10 million in public donations to Airbnb.org through March 31.
DeBold Fusco said the company solicits public donations for Airbnb.org to give people a way to participate and help out when crises arise. “We saw an overwhelming response from the public to support these efforts. There is a desire for folks to open their homes and for folks to support it,” DeBold Fusco told MarketWatch. Thanks to public donations, she said, Airbnb.org was able to expand its program housing Afghan refugees and provide shelter for additional people.
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