Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted the offer in response to the highly publicized protests against the president’s executive order, which left families, refugees, and green card holders detained in airports and deported with no explanation.
Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 29, 2017
The offer encourages Airbnb hosts to volunteer their services to house refugees and people who were affected by the travel ban.
According to a statement shared by Tech Crunch reporter Kate Conger, “Airbnb will subsidize the cost of necessary listings” if anyone requests temporary housing in an area with no volunteer hosts. Otherwise, the arrangement relies upon volunteer hosts signing up through the Airbnb website.
Airbnb’s statement followed in the footsteps of Lyft‘s co-founders, who pledged a $1 million donation to the ACLU—and achieved a PR coup in the process.
Lyft’s main rival, Uber, was in hot water this weekend after undercutting New York taxi drivers who were striking in solidarity with protesters at JFK. This meant the ACLU donation put Lyft on the side of ban protesters, while Uber users deleted their accounts in droves.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Lyft counts billionaire Trump advisor Peter Thiel among its investors. As ever, there are often dual motives at play when businesses make high-profile donations like these.
H/T Tech Crunch
