Airbnb to provide free temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees

Airbnb and Airbnb.org, its philanthropic arm said on Tuesday that the business planned to offer free temporary housing for 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide.

The cost of which is covered by contributions to Airbnb.org from Airbnb and Brian Chesky, as well as contributors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, which was launched in June to raise $25 million, the company said in a blogpost.

“Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free,” Chesky said on Twitter.

“The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S. and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up,” he added.

Chesky asked Airbnb hosts to "reach out" to him if they wanted to host a refugee family, promising to link them with the appropriate individuals at the company.

Airbnb.org provided emergency funds and support to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), HIAS, and Church World Service last week to offer immediate temporary accommodations for up to 1,000 incoming Afghan refugees via the Airbnb platform.

Over this past weekend, Airbnb.org collaborated with partners to place 165 refugees in secure accommodation immediately after they arrived in the United States.

Furthermore, given the critical need, the house rental company encourages other members of the global business community to join efforts to provide urgent assistance to Afghan refugees.

US military and coalition planes evacuated 21,600 people from Kabul, Afghanistan, in 24 hours beginning early Monday.

Picture Credits: Skift