Airbnb pledges $500 million to house disaster and medical emergency victims

Airbnb plans to give $500 million over the next five years to Airbnb.org, its nonprofit arm, so it can offer more free temporary housing. The money is aimed at people hit by disasters and families who travel for medical care. The company announced the pledge on Wednesday.

What changed

Airbnb will pay for the pledge by donating 10 cents from every booking. If that falls short, the company says it will cover the gap. CEO Brian Chesky said the commitment will be completed no matter how the business performs. The goal is to eventually reach 1 million free nights a year.

For scale, the pledge is more than double the total contributions Airbnb.org reported between 2021 and 2025. To raise $500 million through the 10 cents alone, Airbnb would need 5 billion bookings over five years.

How the program works

Airbnb.org is a separate nonprofit, and Airbnb already covers its operating costs. It uses donated credits to book stays on Airbnb for people in crisis. Fees are dropped and hosts are paid. It also gives credits to other relief groups so they can book stays.

• It reports 1.6 million free nights in nearly 140 countries since 2020.
• Help goes to disaster survivors, medical travelers and people escaping domestic violence.
• After Washington state wildfires in August, it gave more than 1,400 nights in the early days.
• Its medical stays program will reach 20 countries by the end of the year.

The criticism

Some affordable housing advocates say Airbnb makes housing scarcer and pricier, which leaves less room for displaced people. Murray Cox of Inside Airbnb said the company contributes to the housing crisis by taking homes off the market. Chesky rejected the idea that Airbnb is why cities are expensive, though he said some hosts remove a small share of local housing.

Researcher Karolina Mikołajewska-Zając said the company could use its charity work to make short-term rentals look more legitimate while governments, including Spain and New York City, move to limit them. She also warned aid groups against relying too heavily on commercial platforms.

A first step, not a fix

Noah Patton of the National Low Income Housing Coalition said short-term help is key to preventing initial displacement. He added that people also need homes to return to. Without long-term work, he said, it is a Band-Aid. Airbnb.org's director, Christoph Gorder, compares the group to an ambulance that gets you to the hospital.

What is not known yet

The material does not explain how a family can apply for a free stay or what the rules are. It also does not say how quickly the nightly total will grow toward 1 million.