We’ve seen a few companies rally behind the victims of Hurricane Sandy, and today Airbnb joins the fold.
The peer-to-peer home sharing startup has decided to waive all of its fees for both hosts and guests in Sandy-affected areas. They are also encouraging hosts to lower prices and take in refugees who may be without power, water, or a home at all.
Airbnb said in a blog post that there are more than 20,000 listings within affected areas. According to the startup, those include New York, the Hamptons, Providence, New Haven, and Atlantic City.
One of those 20,000 listings is Shell, a host who lives in Brooklyn. She’s offering all of her rooms for free to those who might need a refuge from a dark, chaotic, and partially powerless lower Manhattan. “She provides an example of how we can all help,” the blog post read.
Airbnb will not charge any fees for trips booked with a starting date between October 31 and November 7. There are various stipulations and such to the offer, which can be found here.
Airbnb is a service that takes a leap of faith, by the guest and especially by the host. But speaking as an occasional host myself, each reservation that goes without a hitch restores a bit of my faith in humanity. This just reaffirms the brand.
Here’s the blog post in its entirety:
Hurricane Sandy has affected millions of people. But it has also provided an invitation to share our space in truly meaningful ways.
Shell, an Airbnb host in Brooklyn, is offering her five guest rooms to stranded travelers and locals – for free. She provides an example of how we can all help.
There are more than 20,000 Airbnb listings available in affected areas. Airbnb is waiving all of our fees for these spaces. We encourage our entire community to help anyone who has been left stranded or in need because of the hurricane.
The fee-free traveling and hosting applies to both guests who book and hosts who accept new bookings that start between October 31 and November 7 in New York, the Hamptons, Providence, New Haven, and Atlantic City. (The max trip length is seven nights.)
If you’re an existing host in an affected area and can help, please consider lowering your price. You can do this in your account settings.
If you are in a position to share space, please consider listing your space so others might find you.
We started Airbnb so that what’s most inspiring about people and their spaces could be shared. Thanks, Shell, for providing this inspiration for our global community.