Airbnb offers free housing to Ukrainian refugees

As more than 500,000 Ukrainians flee their homes in light of the Russian invasion, many are in need of temporary shelter. To address the potential housing crisis, Airbnb and airbnb.org are offering free, short-term housing for 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. 

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Airbnb has partnered with humanitarian organizations CARE, the International Rescue Committee, and HIAS, which offers support and resettlement for refugees around the world. The company’s leaders have also reached out to neighboring countries, including Poland, Germany, and Hungary, to help support their efforts to relocate displaced Ukrainians. They are guiding refugees to the UN Refugee Agency for additional assistance. 

The vacation rental company joins many online who have offered their own homes to Ukrainian refugees, as well as nonprofit organizations helping with resettlement, like the Global Empowerment Mission, and local networks providing emergency help to their community. 

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The free lodging is supported by Airbnb, Inc., donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and Airbnb hosts themselves, according to a statement from the home-sharing company. 

Airbnb.org is the nonprofit arm of the Airbnb company and is “dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in moments of crisis,” the organization says. The nonprofit has worked in the past to provide free and discounted housing to those in crisis, including large groups of Afghan refugees. In 2021, the organization also created the Refugee Fund, a $25-million fundraising initiative to support resettlement for displaced people. 

Airbnb hosts interested in helping refugees can register online. The company is also working with nonprofits and partners on the ground to coordinate temporary housing for more than 100,000 Ukrainians, according to Airbnb. 

If you can’t provide housing, you can still help: Donate to Airbnb’s nonprofit here. You must have an Airbnb account, and donations can’t be earmarked specifically for Ukrainian refugees at the moment.