Did you know Airbnb.org? This is the association made in Airbnb which aims to offer accommodation for people in emergency situations. Natural disasters, health crisis or local conflicts, the association tries to support people in vulnerable situations and in times of emergency.
Since 2012, Airbnb has been working on the theme of emergency housing:
October 2012 marks the beginning of Airbnb's involvement in the theme of housing in emergency situations. It all started with the initiative of an Airbnb host in Brooklyn, Shell, and during Hurricane Sandy. The latter asks Airbnb how to make her accommodation free so that she can accommodate people in need to respond to the disaster caused by the hurricane. The Airbnb team is working quickly so hosts can offer their homes to evacuees for free. From the start of the initiative, more than 1000 hosts opened the doors of their accommodation to people in need. 8 months later, in June 2013, Airbnb formalized its approach and launched the disaster response tool. A tool that allows rental property owners to offer their properties free of charge to people in the event of a disaster, anywhere in the world.
In the spring of 2015, the initiative Open Homes formalizes itself and makes it possible to accommodate people in emergency situations, refugees, etc. But also teams of humanitarian workers. Indeed, following the earthquake in Nepal, Airbnb hosts welcomed their first humanitarian workers, in particular from the All Hands and Hearts association, which was particularly active in this disaster. During the summer, Airbnb activates the dialogue with the associations to better understand their needs and define ways to help concretely and in accordance with the needs of the associations. This approach makes it possible to forge many partnerships, the first with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) then quickly with more than 15 associations which benefit from access to free airbnb accommodation for their teams or beneficiaries.
In the years following the establishment of these partnerships, a donation platform is set up so that the owners can donate part of their income in the form of donations to partner associations. It is finally in 2020 that Airbnb announces theofficial opening of Airbnb.org, in the form of a completely independent non-profit association. In form, the accent is placed on the very distinct separation between the association and the company: the association having the technical means of the company to allow a total distribution of the donations to the partner associations by significantly reducing its working. Airbnb.org therefore becomes the central hub of airbnb's commitment to housing people in difficulty and thus has its own tools.
In 8 years, 100000 people in emergency situations have found accommodation thanks to Airbnb:
The figure announced demonstrates the quality of Airbnb's commitment and the enthusiasm for the initiative among property owners. The heart of Airbnb's communication has always been to present its rental system as a means of access to new encounters, sharing and human adventure. We note thanks to this figure that mutual aid goes beyond communication and is well reflected in the facts. In February 2022, airbnb also announced that it had managed to offer accommodation or offer a reduced rate to more than 20000 Afghan refugees thanks to the Open Homes program. A clear figure also testifying to the notion of solidarity on the rental platform.
« This highlights that the vacation rental industry and the global housing problem are linked. Airbnb's initiative, whether it concerns housing, equity, assistance to people in difficulty or the financing of associations present in the field, can only be appreciated, for our sector and for the good of the community at large. » Explains Nada, director of our concierge service in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer
We also note that since February 2022, the news has been marked in Europe by the conflict involving Ukraine and Russia. If Airbnb easily dispenses with great geopolitical speeches, its action turns to helping Ukrainian refugees who exceeded several million in the first weeks of the conflict. The program has thus adapted to this crisis with the establishment of an information page also dedicated to landlords wishing to offer emergency housing to refugees from Ukraine. This page presents the means for owners to register for the program, what this entails, but also the means available to them to help and welcome Ukrainian refugees as well as possible.
If many companies are often accused of "washing" their image with false good intentions, it seems that here Airbnb and its initiative have succeeded in 10 years in arousing the enthusiasm of users of their platform by offering a simple and accessible way to actively participate in helping people overcoming difficult times. Proof that the world of short-term rentals can also, with some surprise for some, participate in providing new responses to today's societal and environmental challenges. For more information, we invite you to consult the organization's website: Airbnb.org.
