Recently, there have been reports of how people are using creative ways to donate money directly to residents in Ukraine who need financial aid amid the Russian invasion. A particularly creative way is by using the home rental platform Airbnb, by booking a stay in the country but not actually going to stay there.
Twitter user @DimaggioEth shared the idea of supporting Ukrainian residents directly by booking a Kyiv Airbnb. This way, the Kyiv hosts would be getting the money directly. The Twitter user also noted that the way is “really cheap and can make a small difference right now”.
As a result, another Twitter user reported that “hundreds of people” have been doing the same thing as a way to send immediate monetary assistance “to people in hard-hit areas”. And as you are also able to contact the hosts of the Airbnb for your booking, the Twitter user also shared screenshots of the hosts responding to supportive messages.
It was also reported that more than 61,000 nights were booked in Ukraine from around the world. The bookings grossed nearly USD 2 million (RM8.3 million), according to Airbnb.
“These days we do not have any income. We do not have any right to ask our country to help us, because all the country’s resources are for the war and for the victory,” explained Ekaterina Martiusheva, a host of an apartment in Ukraine.
Usually, Airbnb would take a cut of the bookings. However, Airbnb announced that they are “waiving all guest and host fees on all bookings in Ukraine at this time” after people called for them to waive the fees.
Looking through Airbnb listings for Kyiv, Ukraine, most of them go for about USD 25 (RM104) a night—which isn’t too costly. Of course, Airbnb hosts may not be the neediest cases. Still, people have suggested that there are ways of finding hosts who are likely of limited means—for instance by looking for those who rent out a shared room or live in smaller towns.
Helping people during tough times and crisis isn’t new for Airbnb. The platform started helping out folks who needed homes during Hurricane Sandy’s impact, and helped house those impacted by the “Muslim” ban in 2017—amongst others. In addition to waiving the fees for helping the Ukrainian Airbnb hosts, Airbnb also provides ways for people to host refugees, and even donate through Airbnb, where “100% of your donation will go toward connecting people with short term housing”.
Users have wondered if booking rooms in Ukraine without the intention of staying would mean that it would stop actual Ukrainians from seeking homes through the platform when needed. However, @DimaggioEth noted that “none of these foreign bookings are being filled” and that “the rooms remain free and vacant” so people who need the homes could contact the hosts directly.
There’s also a concern that people might have fake home listings for the sole reason of getting money through Airbnb. I’d suggest that you sift through the listing’s reviews to see if they’ve been there for a while before making your booking. If you’re not that used to the platform, you might be giving your donations to fake listings.
