04/29/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/29/2021 10:09
Last December, Airbnb launched Airbnb.org, a new nonprofit organization that builds on a long history of connecting people in times of crisis to safe, comfortable places to stay. This work began at Airbnb in 2012, when a Host named Shell reached out wanting to offer her home for free to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New York City. Since then, Airbnb - and now Airbnb.org - has partnered with Hosts, nonprofit organizations, emergency management agencies and governments to provide stays to people around the world in times of crisis.
Today, building upon 8 years of learnings and experience providing temporary housing to 75,000 refugees, asylum seekers and people displaced by disasters or other crises across 104 countries, Airbnb.org is announcing a series of commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.
We at Airbnb.org seek to create connection and belonging as individuals confront crises. In order to do that, we must acknowledge and work against inherent power structures and historical oppressions that have created and perpetuated systemic barriers faced by those we intend to serve.
We are working with leading diversity and equity experts, including a new partnership with We All Count, an organization dedicated to bringing an equity-focused approach to robust quantitative and qualitative projects that bridge academic researchers, policymakers, and grassroots communities. We will also further our funding of partners that share our commitment to equity like CARE, a nonprofit that is leveraging our program for a new project focused on providing housing for essential workers from Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color who are on the frontlines of COVD-19 response in the US, and HIAS, which provides both temporary and longer term housing solutions to refugees and asylum seekers across Latin America. We humbly acknowledge that there are many who have come before us whose expertise and voices we hope to amplify through collaboration.
As we move forward, Airbnb.org will focus our collective efforts on the following commitments:
In order to do so, we will:
We are committed to imagining new ways to transform the Airbnb.org stays product, program and team to align with the urgent call to center equity, deliver impact, and help create a world rooted in belonging and healing.
Airbnb.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb.org leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources, at no charge, to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.