Airbnb will host 20,000 refugees worldwide for free

Airbnb “will start welcoming 20,000 Afghan refugees free of charge around the world” to respond to “one of the most serious humanitarian crises of our time”. This was announced on Tuesday by the co-founder of the peer-to-peer tourist rental platform, Brian Chesky.

Airbnb “will pay for these stays”, but “will not be able (to act) without the generosity of (its) hosts”, explains Brian Chesky on his Twitter account, offering people wishing to welcome a refugee family for free to report themselves with the platform. Since 2012, the American company has allowed guests to make rooms available free of charge to accommodate asylum seekers or refugees, thanks to its “Open Homes” platform.

Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free.

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) August 24, 2021

“Inspire other economic leaders”

“The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the United States and elsewhere is one of the most serious humanitarian crises of our time,” he continues. Brian Chesky believes he must “act” and hopes “to inspire other economic leaders to do the same.”

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban on August 15 threw thousands of people at Hamid Karzai Airport, the country’s only exit, and more than 53,000 people have been airlifted since July. More than during the airlift set up from the Tan Son Nhut base during the fall of Saigon in 1975.