Airbnb to donate 50 cents per booking to nonprofit housing fund

Airbnb announced Wednesday that it will contribute $500 million to its independent nonprofit, Airbnb.org, over the next five years. The funding will expand temporary housing support for people facing medical crises and natural disasters.

The company will fund the initiative by donating 10 cents from every booking made on its platform. If booking volume falls short of the target, Airbnb will cover the difference from its own funds. This new model aims to scale the nonprofit's operations to provide up to 1 million nights of free housing annually.

The pledge comes at a time when many corporations have reduced their charitable giving. A recent survey by Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose found that most companies cut back on donations over the past five years. Tax law changes have also led businesses to rethink their philanthropic strategies.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky stated that the company is committed to the full amount regardless of business performance. He described the $500 million figure as large enough to make a difference while remaining comfortable for shareholders. "We felt like this is a responsible number where it’s sufficiently big to make a difference in the world, but it’s also a number shareholders can be comfortable with," Chesky said.

The new funding would more than double the total contributions reported by Airbnb.org between 2021 and 2025. To reach the $500 million target through booking donations alone, the company would need to process 5 billion bookings over the five-year period.

Airbnb.org was launched in 2020 when the San Francisco-based company went public. Since then, the nonprofit has provided 1.6 million nights of free housing in nearly 140 countries. It covers fees and compensates hosts for stays booked for beneficiaries. These include families displaced by disasters, survivors of domestic violence, and people traveling for medical care.

When wildfires in Washington state forced tens of thousands of evacuations in August, Airbnb.org provided more than 1,400 nights of free housing during the early stages of the disaster. Christoph Gorder, the executive director of Airbnb.org, compared the organization to an ambulance that transports people to the hospital. He said the platform allows them to house people quickly with flexibility to meet specific needs.

The nonprofit plans to expand its medical stays program to 20 countries by the end of the year. This program partners with medical relief organizations to house families traveling for treatment. In Mexico, where the program was piloted last fall, Airbnb.org has housed medical travelers for nearly 1,500 nights.

Vuela Fundación, a Mexico City-based partner organization, supports children diagnosed with cancer. Its co-founder, Diego Parada Herrera, noted that many families previously slept in tents or parked cars outside hospitals because they could not afford other lodging. The organization now uses credits from Airbnb.org to book stays and stocks fridges with food for families.

Critics of the short-term rental model argue that Airbnb's expansion contributes to the global housing crisis by removing residential units from the long-term market. Murray Cox, founder of the data activist project Inside Airbnb, said the nonprofit's focus on emergency housing overlooks this issue. "There’s also the housing crisis that’s occurring around the world, and although they’re not causing the housing crisis, they’re contributing to it by taking millions of housing units off the housing market," Cox said.

Noah Patton, director of disaster recovery at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said short-term assistance is key to preventing initial displacement. However, he emphasized the need for long-term solutions so people have homes to return to. "It's a Band-Aid if you don't also focus on the long-term aspect of this," Patton said.