Holiday rental firm Airbnb, co-founded by Brian Chesky (pictured left), said more than 21,500 hosts had offered their homes to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict with Russia.
(Picture: AP)More than 21,500 Airbnb hosts have offered their homes to refugees as the holiday rental firm ramps up its response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
The company said roughly 14,000 hosts across Europe and 4,000 in the US had offered their homes to refugees via Airbnb’s charitable arm, Airbnb.org.
Airbnb.org has raised more than $36.7 million in response to the burgeoning humanitarian crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Donations have come from Airbnb and its founders, individual donors and Airbnb employees.
Airbnb announced at the end of February that it would offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees funded by the firm, donations to its charitable arm and its hosts.
People have also been donating to Ukrainian hosts over the platform, with $15 million given.
The update comes as approximately 89,000 people signed up within the first day of the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, targeted at those who want to host a refugee rent-free for at least six months.
The scheme means there is no limit to how many Ukrainians can enter the UK, with participating households offered £350 a month, tax-free.
Initially the scheme will rely on participants knowing a Ukrainian individual they want to help, however, the government said the program would be expanded to Ukrainians with no links to the UK via charities, community groups and churches which can match refugees to hosts.
Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove had said the UK had a history of “supporting the most vulnerable during their darkest hours”, but the government had come under criticism over its visa scheme for Ukrainian nationals prior to the hosting scheme.
As other European nations had accepted tens of thousands of refugees, the UK’s total had remained at around 3,000 visas, which critics claimed was due to the initial scheme’s complexity.
