Airbnb plans to shelter 20,000 more Afghan refugees

Airbnb asked its hosts last August to offer accommodations for free or at a steep discount to Afghan refugees. Over 7,000 hosts ultimately made good on the offer, with many offering donations as well. 

After hitting its previously announced goal of finding places for 21,300 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, San Francisco-based Airbnb announced plans to house 20,000 more refugees.

Refugees arriving in the US from Afghanistan are initially brought to a military base, with a resettlement agency working to find them proper homes in communities. Airbnb helps by providing available bookings for free or at a low rate, which is paid by donors.

Several organizations, including Women for Afghan Women and International Rescue Committee, have worked with Airbnb on the plan as activists have rushed to find temporary housing for Afghan refugees since US troops swiftly left the country after 20 years last fall and the Taliban retook control.

Airbnb ultimately housed 35% of all Afghan refugees in the US, relocating them to major cities like Atlanta, Georgia and Sacramento, California. 

According to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, the “displacement and resettlement” of Afghan refugees in and outside of the US is “one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time.”

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