Airbnb aims to house 40K Afghan refugees after reaching original goal

Airbnb announced Tuesday that it plans to temporarily house a total of 40,000 Afghan refugees for free after meeting its initial goal of housing 20,000 refugees.

Airbnb fully funded 21,300 temporary stays for Afghan refugees over the span of six months. The company partnered with Airbnb hosts who agreed to open their homes to refugees for free or at a discount.

The company has now announced that it will provide free temporary housing for another 20,000 refugees.

“When we began efforts to provide housing to Afghan refugees, we asked our community to open up their homes or donate to meet this critical need,” said Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky.

“Due to the generosity of our Hosts and donors to Airbnb.org, and the dedication of our nonprofit partners helping to drive this important work, we’ve been able to surpass our original goal,” Chesky added.

A number of resettlement agencies and nonprofits partnered with Airbnb in its initiative, including the International Rescue Committee, Church World Service and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Afghan-led groups such as Women for Afghan Women were involved in the housing plan as well as international organizations such as Refugee Action in the United Kingdom, Amnesty International Ireland and the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, which has a network of 34 resettlement agencies.

More than 7,100 Airbnb hosts offered free or discounted accommodations to Afghan refugees.