Thousands of people around the world have booked Airbnb rentals in Ukraine as a way to offer financial support to people living in fear from the Russian invasion.
Between March 2 and March 3, people booked over 61,000 nights of Airbnb rentals in Ukraine, according to an Airbnb spokesman, CNN reported. While over half of the people who booked the rentals were from the United States, people from countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia also booked housing units.
“I hope that you, and your lovely apartment, are safe and that this horrible war is over … and Ukraine is safe,” Anne Margaret Daniel said in a message to her host as she booked a rental in the city of Kyiv, according to the outlet.
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Daniel promised her host, Olga Zviryanskaya, that she would “come and see” her someday and wished blessings upon her and her city and country, according to the outlet. Zviryanskaya, a mother with three children, was forced to leave her home in Kyiv and take shelter in the city of Cherkasy after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
One Airbnb host, Andre Osypchuk, a former boatman who lives in Kyiv with his wife and two children, has set up an automated response as a result of the influx of bookings he has received.
“Thank you very much for your help, which is so much needed now,” Osypchuk’s message says, according to the outlet. “I have been standing in line for food since the morning, which I can now buy with the money you sent.”
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky confirmed on Twitter that people were booking places in Ukraine that “they don’t intend to stay in” as a means to “help hosts.”
People are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine they don’t intend to stay in just to help Hosts https://t.co/L6B11ioSXb
— Brian Chesky ?? (@bchesky) March 3, 2022
Chesky announced on Friday that the company would be suspending operations in Russia and Belarus. Chesky’s announcement comes more than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine and two days after troops from Belarus were speculated to have joined the invasion.
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Airbnb said on Feb. 28 that the platform would provide “free, short-term housing” for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees as the war continues. The stays for the refugees would be paid for by Airbnb, Inc., the Airbnb Refugee Fund, and Airbnb hosts.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Airbnb for a statement but did not receive a response.
