Originally published 2022-03-22.
In the first days of March 2022, a week after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, people around the world found an unusual way to send money straight to Ukrainians: they booked Airbnb stays in Ukrainian cities with no plan to ever arrive. On 2 and 3 March alone, according to Airbnb, guests booked about 61,000 nights in Ukraine, sending roughly $1.9 million to hosts in 48 hours. The money reached people in cities under attack quickly, without waiting for aid agencies or bank transfers.
It was a simple idea that spread through social media, and it worked, though not without a few cautions worth knowing about.
How the booking idea worked
A guest would search Airbnb for a flat or room in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv or another Ukrainian city, choose dates in the near future and pay for the stay as usual. Many sent the host a message saying they would not be coming and that the booking was a gift. Because Airbnb pays hosts shortly after the scheduled check-in, the money arrived within days.
The appeal was directness. Donors could see a real person on the other end, often with a photo and reviews, and the payment went through a familiar platform rather than an unknown charity. For hosts who had fled, lost work or were sheltering in basements, it was an income stream when the economy around them had stopped.
What Airbnb did to support it
Airbnb did not start the movement, but it quickly made it easier. The company temporarily waived its guest and host fees on bookings in Ukraine, so more of each payment reached the host. A spokesperson, Haven Thorn, said the company was "so humbled by the inspiring generosity of our community during this moment of crisis".
Separately, Airbnb and its charity arm, Airbnb.org, offered free temporary housing in neighbouring countries for up to 100,000 people fleeing Ukraine, funded by the company, donors and hosts who offered their homes. Hosts who took in refugees were covered by the company's AirCover protection. In March 2022 Airbnb also suspended its operations in Russia and Belarus.
One host's story
Volodymyr Bondarenko, a host in Kyiv, told CNN that ten different people booked his single room for the same night. He described the response as surprising and very supportive, and said he planned to pass the money on to people who needed help.
Messages left with bookings were often as valued as the money. Hosts shared screenshots of notes from strangers abroad on social media, many of them simply saying that they were thinking of them and that the booking was a way to stand with Ukraine.
Other hosts said on social media that they would use the payments for their own families' basic needs, to support neighbours, or to buy supplies for volunteers and defenders.
The scale of the crisis behind it
The bookings happened against the largest displacement in Europe since the Second World War. By around the fourth week of the war, UN agencies estimated that more than three million people had fled Ukraine, mostly to Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia, and millions more were displaced inside the country, bringing the total forced from their homes to roughly ten million.
Many people elsewhere in Europe opened their homes too. In Ireland, a Red Cross portal for housing pledges crashed after receiving more than 4,000 offers of medium- to long-term accommodation in a single evening. Across the EU, the Temporary Protection Directive was activated for the first time, giving Ukrainians the right to live, work, study and get medical care in member states.
In March 2022, peace talks hosted by Turkey raised hopes of a ceasefire. Those hopes did not last: the talks did not produce an agreement, and the war continued for years afterwards.
Was it a good way to give?
The Airbnb idea had real strengths: speed, transparency and money going straight to individuals. It also had limits that donors should keep in mind.
- You cannot fully verify the host. Soon after the campaign went viral, there were reports of suspicious new listings apparently set up to collect donations. Listings with long review histories were safer choices.
- It helps people who were already hosts. Those most in need, such as people in occupied areas or without property, could not benefit.
- Fees and taxes can still apply. The fee waiver was temporary, and payment processing and currency conversion still took a share.
- It does not replace organised aid. Medical supplies, evacuation and shelter at scale depend on established groups such as the Ukrainian Red Cross, UNHCR and local volunteer networks.
Safer ways to give directly
If you want to support Ukrainians today, look for organisations that publish accounts and work on the ground, check that a fundraiser is registered as a charity in your country, and be wary of urgent appeals sent through private messages. Giving regularly in small amounts often helps groups plan better than one large gift during a news spike.
Many people did both: a booking to support one family directly, and a donation to an organisation able to reach many more.
Why the idea caught on
The booking campaign spread because it turned a feeling of helplessness into a concrete act with a face attached. Similar ideas followed: online marketplace Etsy, for example, cancelled about $4 million in fees and balances owed by its sellers in Ukraine. Platforms built for ordinary commerce briefly became channels for direct solidarity, a pattern likely to repeat in future crises.
Sources: Good News Network (with reporting from CNN); Wikipedia: Airbnb.
COMMENTS