Airbnb is booming in Ukraine, but why?
There is war in Ukraine. Still, many people book a room through Airbnb somewhere in Ukraine. Remarkable? Yes, but the reason makes sense.
The question is, of course, why people spend money and book Airbnbs when they have no plans at all to actually go there. The reason is logical and has a good motivation. People all over the world book Airbnbs in Ukraine to send money directly to locals.
Airbnb in Ukraine
Nor are they a few people. No, tens of thousands of people around the world book Airbnbs in Ukraine. Although they have no intention of going to the war-torn country. The reason: It’s a quick way to get cash donations to Ukrainian residents.
The move started on the platform last week. Last week, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted about the trend: “61,402 nights were booked in Ukraine in 48 hours. That’s $1.9 million going to hosts in need,” he wrote. “What a cool idea from our community. Thank you.”
During the 48-hour period from March 2 to March 3, Airbnb users from various countries booked more than 61,000 nights, with a booking value of nearly $2 million. More than half — 34,000 nights — were booked by Airbnb users in the United States. Over the same period, more than 8,000 nights were booked by users in the UK and nearly 3,000 nights by Canadians, according to Airbnb.
Support
A company spokesperson said Airbnb is now focusing on raising awareness about how people in Ukraine’s neighboring countries can apply to provide temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees, noting that people don’t need to be current Airbnb hosts to to sign up.
