Ukraine Airbnb bookings: Users paying for stays to help hosts
Airbnb.org has already had more than 357,000 visitors
Airbnb users found another way to give back to Ukrainians as the conflict with Russia continues – they're booking stays.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted Thursday that users are booking stays in Ukraine that "they don’t intend to stay in" just so they can funnel money directly to hosts whose country has been under attack by Russian forces since last week.
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Since the war erupted, Airbnb has temporarily waived all guest and host fees on all bookings in Ukraine. This means that Airbnb is not profiting from any stays in the country. Instead, all the money spent on bookings will be passed on to the hosts.
Chesky's tweet on Thursday was in response to Twitter user @quentin.quarantino who claimed that "100's of people are booking AirBnBs in Ukraine as a way to send immediate monetary assistance to people in hard-hit areas."
AIRBNB TO HOUSE 100,000 UKRAINIAN REFUGEES AS WAR WITH RUSSIA CONTINUES
The Twitter user took a screenshot of messages sent between Ukraine hosts and donors, saying the responses were "moving."
Since then, other Twitter users have posted updates that they have been booking stays in Ukraine as "a little gesture to help them."
Many of them are attaching the responses from hosts.
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Airbnb told FOX Business that the company has also seen an "overwhelming response" of people visiting the company's nonprofit affiliate Airbnb.org, which facilitates temporary stays for people in moments of crisis.
Through Airbnb.org, people can either sign up to host a refugee or donate to help the company reach its goal of offering free temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine.
This humanitarian effort is made possible through funds donated by Airbnb and donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, in addition to "the generosity of hosts through Airbnb.org," the company said.
To date, more than 357,000 people have already visited the site.
"We are so humbled by the inspiring generosity of our community during this moment of crisis," Airbnb said in a statement to FOX Business. "We have seen an overwhelming response to this effort."