Airbnb bookings in Ukraine raised nearly $2 million in aid: NPR

Some people have found a new way to get money to Ukrainians as their country is under attack from Russia: booking immediate Airbnb stays that they have no intention of using.

Sarah Brown, who lives in Salt Lake City, is one of those who got the ball rolling in a Facebook group for Airbnb hosts. She booked a stay in kyiv.

Someone from the Facebook group noted that it was important to support Ukrainians in places other than Kyiv, so Brown booked two more stints in smaller towns, with plans for more.

Ekaterina Martiusheva is the host of the first Brown apartment booked in Ukraine.

Speaking to NPR from Kyiv, Martiusheva said reservations mean a lot: “These days we have no income. We have no right to ask our country to help us, because all the resources of the countries are for war and for victory.”

Airbnb hosts are paid 24 hours After a guest checks in, people abroad book stays and let hosts know it’s a gesture of solidarity and they don’t plan to show up.

The idea has caught on over the past few days, and Airbnb is waiving all host and guest fees in Ukraine for now. On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 61,000 nights were booked in Ukraine worldwide — bookings that brought in nearly $2 million, Airbnb told NPR.

Reservations helped create a sense of connection

Brown says the experience helped her feel more invested in Ukraine beyond the news, connecting with a real person — in this case, with an Airbnb host like herself. Brown and her husband own three properties listed on the platform, and she owns a business that operates 28 others.

“It makes me feel like I have so much more skin in the game. I’m so heartbroken for Ukraine, but I don’t know anyone there. And now I care so much about this woman and what’s happening to him,” she said. NPR.

“It doesn’t happen to someone who goes far away – it happens to people we know now.”

Of course, Airbnb hosts might not be the most needy. But Brown says there are ways to find hosts who likely have limited means, such as seeking out those who rent a shared room or live in smaller towns.

Martiusheva says donations through Airbnb bookings have been valuable because of human connections. “It’s not just money, it’s support and encouragement. We get these notes from people calling us brave, and it feels good,” she says. “It’s just amazing, really.”

She also asked Airbnb donors to also contribute to a fund for the Ukrainian army.

In kyiv, donations compensate for lost income and help neighbors

Together with her estranged husband, Martiusheva operates 30 apartments on Airbnb in central Kyiv for owners who live abroad; most of the owners are not Ukrainians.

Martiusheva says the owners understand that the money coming in now is intended as donations to help Ukrainians, and they are not asking for a share of it.

With the money that arrived via Airbnb, Martiusheva is able to pay her six-person team of cleaners. Most of them have fled to western Ukraine, she says, and the money is helping them on the move.

She is also using the money to support her elderly neighbors for food and transportation, as the price of basic commodities and taxis have risen.

A mother of two school-age children, Martiusheva says she stayed in Kyiv because her parents are over 70 and have health problems that prevent them from travelling.

But she also stayed to give encouragement to the Ukrainian army.

“It’s hard to protect an empty town,” she said.

Last week Martiusheva woke up to the sound of bombs, helicopters and planes.

But the past three days have been quiet, she says, as Ukrainian forces hold back the Russian army outside Kiev.

“Only pharmacies and supermarkets are working now,” she says. “Everything else is stopped. People are just surviving on their savings, and that’s it.”

The company has taken its own steps to help Ukrainians

If this solidarity reservation phenomenon seems to have developed locally, Airbnb also has its own initiative to provide accommodation to people in need. The company will provide free short-term accommodation for up to 100,000 of those fleeing Ukraine. People can go to Airbnb.org and sign up to welcome refugees or donate to the cause.

CEO Brian Chesky said this week that the company had suspended its activities in Russia and Belarus.

For Brown in Salt Lake City, the reservations aren’t meant to replace donations to organizations like the Red Cross that provide crucial aid.

“It’s a multi-pronged approach,” she says. “It’s as much about shared solidarity and making sure people don’t feel alone, as much as getting money to those who need it most.”