'airbnb donations' lets hosts chip in to house displaced people in need

airbnb has announced a new initiative called ‘donations’, as part of an ambitious goal to house 100,000 people in need by 2022. the new feature lets hosts donate a portion of their earnings to non-profit organizations that support displaced people to find a place to stay.

images courtesy of airbnb

the donations tool is an extension of airbnb’s open homes platform which enables hosts to open their homes for free to people affected by conflict, disaster, or critical illness. airbnb says that the open homes community has helped over 25,000 people in need find temporary housing to date, and it says it’s invested $20 million in 2019 to grow its platform and increase its contributions to partner.

airbnb is partnering with hands and hearts, make-a-wish foundation, international rescue committee and mercy corps for the initiative. donors will get regular updates to let them know how their contributors have helped others find places to stay. 

‘many hosts in our community are eager to help when a crisis hits, but aren’t always able to open their homes. we developed this donations tool to give them an easy, straightforward way to make an impact,’ says airbnb’s co-founder and chief product officer, joe gebbia. ‘we hope that through the company’s contributions, the open homes program, and our hosts’ generous donations, we can extend belonging to those who are facing their darkest hour.’

the tool is now for all hosts in the US starting today, with plans to make it available globally later this year. to learn more about how donations work or to participate, please visit airbnb here.

project info

company: airbnb

initiative: donations