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US: Airbnb.org is working with community hub and non-profit organisation, 211 LA, to offer free, temporary housing to residents in Los Angeles County who have been displaced from their homes or forced to evacuate by this week’s wildfires.
Airbnb’s charitable arm, which is run independently from the home-sharing platform itself, will fund the stays, which are free for guests. Airbnb.org works with local organisations to help identify the people who are in the greatest need of temporary housing and it may expand support to other areas affected by the wildfires.
Airbnb.org and 211 LA say that they are currently focusing specifically on residents who have either lost their home or been forced to evacuate in the Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Sylmar areas of Los Angeles. Affected residents are being encouraged to request assistance for temporary housing support from Airbnb.org by filling out this intake form with 211 LA.
To date, Airbnb.org claims to have provided more than 1.6 million nights of emergency stays for over 250,000 people. The organisation partners with non-profits and governments to identify those impacted by disasters, and is able to offer free stays because of funding from Airbnb, private donations, and Airbnb hosts who offer their homes for free or at a discount.
Most recently, Airbnb provided free, temporary housing for people impacted by Category Four Hurricane Helene in several US states in October.
In this case, Airbnb.org clarified that it will not offer housing directly to individuals “at this time”, and instead stays would be coordinated by the 211 LA in Los Angeles County.
It came after Airbnb was forced into a U-turn by issuing refunds to customers who had cancelled trips to southern California in the wake of the wildfires.
One X [formerly known as Twitter] user, Ana Mostarac, had posted that she was initially told by Airbnb staff that her cancellation was not covered under the company’s major disruptive events policy, and that she would not receive any compensation for her impacted trip in the Palisades neighbourhood.
However, Airbnb later confirmed to Newsweek that the policy had come into effect for affected areas of southern California, enabling guests with an eligible booking to cancel for a refund. The company told the website:Â “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the fires, and we have issued a full refund.”
At the time of writing, four major fires are being tackled [Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Woodley] across areas covering thousands of acres, while buildings have been destroyed and at least five people are confirmed to have died.
Those interested in offering free or discounted stays to people impacted by the wildfires are advised to visit Airbnb.org for more information on how to sign up to host. Airbnb waives service fees for Airbnb.org hosts and guests, and hosts who sign up to share their home through the platform receive damage protection and liability insurance with AirCover for each booking.
Anyone wanting to support people impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires [and other crises globally] can donate to Airbnb.org at this link. 100 per cent of donations go toward providing emergency housing, according to the non-profit organisation.
