two weeks later Russia has invaded Ukraine, Gregory Offner was looking for ways to help from his home in Philadelphia. He scrolled through Twitter and saw people posting receipts from Airbnb they had booked in Ukraine, to get money straight to Ukrainian bank accounts. Offner was inspired. He chose an apartment in Kharkiv, a particularly hard-hit northeastern city, and booked four nights, for a total of $214. He left a note explaining that he was not coming to stay – it was humanitarian aid.
The host responded the next day. “Thank you very much for your kind support, it means a lot to us now,” he wrote, adding that he would donate the money to the Ukrainian military. But Offner’s payment never arrived. The next day, Airbnb canceled and refunded the reservation. “I received an email saying that the person hosting or using the Airbnb account in Ukraine was ‘no longer able to receive money’ from Airbnb,” says Offner. “Like, what does that even mean?”
This meant – although the platform never communicated this directly to Offner – that Airbnb suspected the host was not legitimate. “We have identified a handful of hosts who have not supported this effort in the spirit intended,” said Ben Breit, global head of trust communications at Airbnb. After donation bookings started coming in, some hosts created “ghost listings” for apartments in Ukraine that didn’t exist. In some cases, they may not live in Ukraine at all. This is against Airbnb’s policy on fake lists, even if these lists were intended to raise funds. After Offner booked his stay, his Airbnb host directed him to several such listings in Kyiv that he thought could benefit from help from benefactors like Offner. The lists were all created this month.
To date, people have booked more than 434,000 nights in cities like Kyiv, Odessa and Lviv to show solidarity with Ukrainians. Those bookings raised more than $15 million in help, according to Airbnb. (The company, which normally takes about 20% of each booking, waived its fees in Ukraine.) Uncomfortable using Airbnb for such contributions.
In mid-March, Airbnb stopped allowing new hosts to create listings in Ukraine, an effort to minimize scams that also prevents real Ukrainians from receiving funds through the platform. The company also said it was “closely evaluating” all listing activity in Ukraine and had measures in place to detect fraud. In addition to donating directly to Ukrainian Airbnb hosts, Breit pointed out that people can also donate to Airbnb.org, which has pledged to provide free, short-term housing to 100,000 refugees fleeing the ‘Ukraine.
The enforcement effort and accompanying lack of transparency have caused confusion. Kevin Coyne booked seven different Airbnbs in Ukraine earlier this month when he heard about the donation effort. For each, he sent a personal note; most of the hosts responded to express their gratitude. By the end of the week, Airbnb had canceled three of his reservations. The company only wrote that the hosts were “no longer able to receive money.” Connor Martin has booked a five-night stay in kyiv; the company refunded his money on the last day he booked. He says he was upset by Airbnb’s poor message about why his goodwill gesture was rejected. “A horrible gesture on their part,” he said.
Sybil Knox has booked two Airbnbs in Ukraine – a loft in central kyiv and a modern one-bedroom apartment with a jacuzzi – both of which have been canceled by the company. She received no explanation as to why and says neither host seemed to have any red flags: the two were “identity verified” by Airbnbs, and they had joined the platform in 2013 and 2019, respectively. One of the apartments she booked had 125 reviews, with a rating of 4.92 stars; the other had 33 reviews and a rating of 4.67. When WIRED explained Airbnb’s policy against hosts who created new listings amid the crisis, Knox had mixed feelings. She said that bad actors could certainly take advantage of well-meaning people in a crisis, and she wanted to know that her money was going to a real Ukrainian citizen. On the other hand, “people in difficult situations are thinking of ways to be creative in channeling more money to their cause,” she says. “This campaign was limited to those who were already Airbnb providers. Other people were unable to board.
Travelers and hosts whose reservations have been canceled say Airbnb’s policies regarding donation stays have not been clearly communicated. After Airbnb refunded Offner, the host sent him a message on WhatsApp complaining that his account had been banned without explanation. “I tried to contact the Airbnb support team and they were unable to provide a specific response,” he wrote. “As a result of this blockage, all reservations have been stopped and it is no longer possible to receive donations through the Airbnb system. Since the money never reached him, he asked Offner to send payment directly through WayForPay, a kind of Ukrainian PayPal.
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