Many people have expressed their solidarity with Ukraine by booking stays on Airbnb that they think are with individual hosts, but they often send money to large professional hosts who may not even be located in the war-torn country.
Indeed, Airbnb listings do not indicate whether the host is a professional or an individual simply trying to earn a living. In 2018, the European Commission and European Union consumer watchdogs said several Airbnb practices violated competition laws and recommended that Airbnb “clearly identify whether the offer is made by a private host. or a professional, because the consumer protection rules differ”.
Airbnb, however, in the vast majority of cases, is still not transparent about the nature of the host’s business.
Consider an Instagram user, @downhomedoodle, who posted an Airbnb reservation at 53 Predslavynska Street in Kyiv, Ukraine from March 4-7.
“Just booked one night for every night this month in Kyiv on @airbnb,” @downhomedoodle wrote. “I made sure it belonged to an independent person who lives in Kyiv. After booking I messaged the host to let him know we weren’t coming but we pray for his safety. Most nights are under $60! Down Home Family, let’s all book a night and let these people feel some love!”
Many travelers simply view the initial Airbnb page listing the host’s first name. However, if you click further on the host’s photo, you will see that the host for the Predslavynska Street property has 39 listings. This host or professional property manager is therefore not “an independent person who lives in Kyiv”.
In fact, that professional host may not have its head office in Ukraine at all and could be a company in Russia or virtually anywhere.
It’s a similar story for Christopher Cartwright, a Twitter user who booked a two-bedroom apartment on Leontovycha Street in Kyiv. He used the hashtag #StandWithUkraine and suggested “you can also send money to the army to buy weapons. I did that too. FK Russia.
But if Cartwright thought he was helping a Ukrainian person or family with little income, he might be way off the mark. The host from Cartwright is a Superhost with 13 places. Few Ukrainian citizens can afford to own or rent 13 properties.
It was a similar deal for Twitter user @reptiletoes, who said of his Ukraine booking: “I picked hosts/rooms under US$30. With single rentals. Checked and established.
However, the serviced apartment she booked in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, is hosted by superhost Marina, which has 26 units. The listing says Marina lives in Ukraine, which may be true. This does not necessarily mean that the company Marina is involved with is based in Ukraine. Property managers often select a co-host to manage properties locally.
To its credit, Airbnb waived host and guest fees in Ukraine to show solidarity with Ukraine, and CEO Brian Chesky wrote on Twitter two days ago: “In 48 hours, 61,406 nights were booked in Ukraine. That’s $1.9 million for hosts in need. »
Airbnb did not directly respond to questions about people not knowing whether they were booking with an individual host or a professional, and the fact that Airbnb does not identify property managers as such on its platform.
In response, an Airbnb spokesperson said, “We are so humbled by the inspiring generosity of our community at this time of crisis. Airbnb is temporarily waiving guest and host fees on bookings in Ukraine at this time. We also encourage anyone interested in getting involved with Airbnb.org to go to airbnb.org/help-ukraine, and support Airbnb.org’s initiative to provide housing for refugees fleeing Ukraine by becoming a Host or making a donation. To date, we have seen an overwhelming response to this effort, with nearly 1.2 million visitors to this page.
The spokesperson also suggested people who book read host reviews to see how long they’ve been hosting and for additional information.
While bookers can transfer money to small coerced hosts and small businesses in Ukraine, some of those well-meaning bookings go to large property managers who might not even be located in Ukraine. Bloomberg reported that almost 75% of those bookings came from people in North America and the UK.
It is well known, for example, that Russian companies have substantial investments in Ukraine, including in the property management sector, so some of these well-meaning bookers may send money to Russian investors, and not under the duress of Ukrainian citizens.
London Live TV channel tweeted that Calder Travel’s Simon Calder said during an Instagram Live stream that “using Airbnb as a way to donate to Ukraine could inadvertently help Russia”.
The idea of booking staycations in Ukraine as acts of solidarity for guests who never intend to visit the war zone came from an Instagram account, Quentin Quarantino, who wrote: “J shared an idea to support Ukraine by booking rooms for rent on Airbnb. 24 hours later, hundreds of people are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine to send immediate financial aid to people in hard-hit areas. The response messages from the hosts are so moving.
Airbnb, which has waived fees in Ukraine, has endorsed the idea. Airbnb’s Chesky wrote on Twitter: “Such a cool idea from our community. Thank you.”
Some Twitter users questioned the effort, saying some of the money might not go to those targeted and that support might be more effective if directed to the Red Cross or other aid organizations on the ground.
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