Airbnb hosts in the Ukraine are being inundated with bookings from people all over the world, however these bookings are special as these people have no plans to visit.
Booking an Airbnb is part of a new creative social media campaign to provide money to Ukrainian’s who need financial assistance as Russian forces bomb their country and cut off their access to services.
The areas that people are booking the most are the areas of Ukraine that have been hit the hardest to allow those who are the most desperate to receive the much needed assistance.
The idea of using Airbnb as a way to help individuals from war-torn Ukraine gained popularity after a Twitter user shared it on the microblogging platform.
Later on, the user also shared snapshots of grateful messages from Ukrainian Airbnb hosts, sent to people who had booked their properties with no intention of visiting.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, later revealed on Friday, March 4, more than 61,000 nights at Ukraine properties had been booked on Airbnb from generous people all across the world – all of the bookings occurred between March 2 and 3.
The bookings totalled an outstanding $1.9 million (£1.4M) with all the money going directly to Ukrainians in need.
The money raised is life saving and will ensure that many Ukrainian families have access to the basic supplies such as food and water they so desperately need.
Airbnb has also confirmed in attempt to assist with donations from the public via its service they will be waiving all service fees in Ukraine in a post to their twitter account on March 3.
Organisers of the campaign are urging people who wish to contribute via Airbnb to make sure the rental properties they choose are operated by individuals and not companies, to ensure that the money is provided for those who are most in need.
Individuals who wish to help Ukraine and its people via the Airbnb service are also being asked to ensure that they select a check in date as close as possible to the actual date to ensure that the money reaches the Ukrainian host quicker.
This is because Airbnb pay out the money to hosts 24 hours after guests check into the property.
Anyone wanting to go down this route to support Ukrainian people can do so by logging into the Airbnb, selecting a property within a badly affected area of Ukraine – owned by an individual – and booking.
A message can also be left for the host after the stay has lapsed.
