Airbnb has suspended all operations in Russia and Belarus, and also blocked users of the home-rental site in both countries from making reservations, in the company’s latest response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion Ukraine.
The home rental company, which has nearly 100,000 short-term rentals available in the two countries according to market research firm AirDNA, expressed support for Ukraine.
Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnbwho added the Ukrainian flag to his Twitter profile, tweeted the suspension in a one-line post.
Airbnb suspends all operations in Russia and Belarus
— Brian Chesky 🇺🇦 (@bchesky) March 4, 2022
The company expanded on Chesky’s tweet, adding that the ban would extend to Airbnb members from those countries trying to make reservations on the site.
“This means we will be preventing calendars from accepting new bookings in both countries until further notice,” a company spokesperson said. “We will also restrict users in Belarus and Russia to make new reservations as guests. We certainly hope that as we look to the future, a path to peace will be forged.
Questions and answers
The brands that left Russia
Spectacle
A number of companies have withdrawn their operations and services in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. These include:
Retailers
- Ikea has temporarily closed all stores and factories in Russia, affecting 15,000 workers. It closed its 17 outlets across Russia but said it would keep its Mega malls open.
- H&M has temporarily suspended all sales in Russia. The company said stores in Ukraine had already been temporarily closed “due to the safety of customers and colleagues”.
- JD Sports has ceased all commercial activity in Russia on its branded websites and wholesale channels, adding that it represents less than 0.05% of its annual revenue.
- Mango, the Spanish clothing retailer, has announced that it is temporarily closing its stores and online shopping site in Russia, as it monitors the situation in Ukraine “with sadness and concern”.
- Nike said it was blocking Russian customers from buying online.
- Adidas has suspended its partnership with the Russian Football Union.
- Marks & Spencer has suspended shipments to the Russian operations of its Turkish franchisee. Operations ceased last week at its 10 stores in Ukraine, which employ 250 people. It has 48 stores in Russia and 1,200 employees, also through the franchisee.
- Boohoo has halted sales in Russia and shut down its Russian shopping sites.
- Asos has suspended sales in Russia. He said it was “neither practical nor fair to continue to trade in Russia”.
Journey
- Airbnb has suspended all operations in Russia and Belarus. He also took bookings from people in both countries.
- Expedia has stopped selling trips to and from Russia.
Car manufacturers
- Volkswagen has halted vehicle production in Russia “until further notice”. Vehicle exports to Russia have also been halted “with immediate effect”, he added.
- Toyota halted production at its plant in St. Petersburg, and imports of vehicles into the country also ceased indefinitely.
- General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault have halted sales and operations in Russia. Mercedes-Benz announced that it would stop selling cars and vans to Russia, as did Aston Martin. Harley-Davidson has halted motorcycle shipments to Russia.
beverage industry
- Diageo, the maker of Smirnoff vodka and Guinness, has suspended exports to Russia and Ukraine.
- Coca-Cola HBC halted production at its bottling plant in Kyiv and evacuated its employees.
Technology, Media and Entertainment
- Apple has suspended sales in Russia.
- Facebook owner Meta said it had stopped recommending Russian state media content to all Facebook users, with Instagram to follow.
- Google suspended all advertising in Russia after the country’s internet regulator asked the company to stop running what it deemed to be ads displaying false information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Walt Disney Company suspends its release of films in Russia.
- Netflix said it has no plans to distribute news, sports and entertainment channels from Russian state media.
Luxury Goods Companies
- Burberry has halted all luxury goods shipments to Russia “due to operational issues”.
Manufacturing
- JCB, the British construction equipment manufacturer, said it had suspended all operations, including the export of machinery and spare parts to the country.
Russia has more than 93,000 listings on Airbnb and Belarus nearly 4,000, according to AirDNA.
On Thursday, Airbnb waived fees for hosts and those booking rentals in Ukraine. He made the decision after members of the public started making reservations in Ukraine no intention to travel as a means of providing financial support to residents facing hardship during the invasion.
Ukraine has more than 17,000 active short-term rental ads.
On Monday, Airbnb pledged to provide free housing to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The company said it has received “overwhelming support” for the initiative, with more than 260,000 visitors so far to a dedicated webpage where people can register to host or donate.
Sign up for the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk
Earlier this week, Chesky said the company was weighing its options regarding its Russia operation. “We don’t have a big business in Russia,” he told CNN. “It’s not one of our main markets. [But] we are absolutely reviewing our relationship [about whether] do business in Russia.
Last year, Airbnb saw bookings for 300m nights from 4m hosts globally, totaling $46.8bn (£35.3bn). The company, founded in 2008, went public in 2020, reaching a market value of around $100 billion.
Airbnb joins a rapidly growing and expansive list of companies severing ties or suspending operations in Russia, including Ikea, global staffing firm Hays, Apple, Netflix and all major Hollywood studios, retailers H&M, Marks & Spencer , Burberry and Boohoo. , and automakers like Ford, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Comments are closed.