Many Canadians felt powerless to support the Ukrainians during the Russian invasion.
Now, a ghost-booking trend on Airbnb is catching fire, and it’s a way for someone in Canada to provide support directly to Ukrainian families when they least expect it.
On March 2 and 3, more than 61,000 nights were booked in Ukraine worldwide – and none of the guests intended to check in.
Airbnb said it is temporarily waiving guest and host fees on online bookings. Ukraineand the gross booking value from phantom bookings reached nearly $2 million.
Nearly 3,000 of those nights have been booked by Canadian guests, like Stephanie Clark, a mother of two in North Vancouver.
“Between my husband and I in total…we’ve made seven separate Airbnb bookings in Ukraine,” she told Daily Hive.
The phantom booking trend was inspired by Instagram influencer Tommy Marcus aka @quentquarantinoand he rallied Canadians to show their support for Ukraine.
“I deliberately looked for properties in the hardest hit towns, not wanting to occupy rooms that might actually be needed… closer to the Polish border where there is no fighting yet.”
“Of the seven reservations, we sent a message with our reservation saying we were from Canada and felt so helpless for the people of Ukraine and the world was watching, our hearts were breaking and we wished we could do something.”
Clark said the phantom booking came as a surprise to Ukrainian hosts. “They were so surprised that it seemed to lift their spirits – obviously just momentarily, but making that human connection a nice feeling.”
“Whether it’s a family with just one room in their house or someone who seemed to have 10 or 20 ads, these are all people who lose their homes and their jobs,” said Clark, who shared screenshots of messages between her and the hosts. .
“Thank you so much for your support, we really need it now, both financially and spiritually!” wrote a host.
Stephanie Clark/Supplied
“I never thought there were such people in the world,” wrote another host.
“I personally know about a dozen people in my immediate family and friends who have done this now and it’s really encouraging,” Clark said.
Stephanie Clark/Supplied
For its part, Airbnb said it was “humbled by the inspiring generosity of our community at this time of crisis”.
You can go to Airbnb Help Ukraine to learn more about how the travel platform helps and gets involved.
With files from Daily Hive staff
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