Airbnb’s nonprofit makes resettling refugees a core mission

By GLENN GAMBOA
AP Business Writer

Thousands of Airbnb hosts have agreed to house refugees as part of the online lodging marketplace’s philanthropic program to provide emergency temporary housing to those who need it. It’s a program so successful it is seen as a model for those working to resettle refugees and has become a core mission of Airbnb.org, the nonprofit that celebrates its first anniversary Tuesday. In its first year, Airbnb.org helped provide more than 100,000 first responders with housing during the pandemic to avoid worries about spreading COVID-19 to their families. In recent months, the nonprofit has worked to resettle more than 7,400 Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover of the country and has pledged to resettle more than 12,500 more.