Airbnb provides Tennessee tornado victims with free accommodations
Neighbors are stepping up to help neighbors in need
Airbnb has housed over 200 people displaced by the Tennessee tornado free of charge.
By visiting Airbnb.com/TNtornado2020 individuals displaced by the tornado can book free accommodations until March 24 and those looking to help in the relief effort can volunteer to share their homes with tornado victims.
“It’s just as easy as listing your home on Airbnb,” Kim Rubey, Airbnb director of social impact, told FOX Business’ Connell McShane.
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Airbnb started this program after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 when one of the company’s hosts suggested that they allow people to offer their spaces for free, she said. It has put the service to work in more than 90 countries and helped at least 50,000 people, Rubey added.
“Just a few months ago our hosts in Australia housed over 900 people after the fires,” she said.
Those offering their property to disaster victims receive the same protections that all Airbnb hosts, Rubey assured viewers.
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Tennessee officials report that 25 people were killed by the tornado, 18 of them roughly 80 miles from Nashville in Putnam County. The storm was designated an EF-3 intensity tornado with wind speeds up to 165 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
The tornado damaged more than 100 structures in Putnam County along a two-mile path.
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Rubey noted in times of distress everyone has something worth sharing and can make a “tangible difference” in the lives of those experiencing “the unimaginable.”
“It’s moments like these where you see the best in humanity and neighbors stepping up to help neighbors and we’re just here to help power it behind the scenes,” Rubey concluded.
Associated Press contributed to this report.