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Airbnb trolled for seeking attention as it gives free housing to 20K Afghan refugees

Airbnb did not specify exactly how much the company plans to spend on the said commitment or for how long refugees will be housed

Airbnb announced Tuesday, August 24, that they are opening doors to their properties for 20,000 Afghan refugees globally. The company sought assistance in the said initiative from hosts who rent their properties through the home-sharing company for more free housing for those fleeing the crisis. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said on Twitter, "The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up. I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There’s no time to waste."

Chesky also noted, "While we will be paying for these stays, we could not do this without the generosity of our Hosts." According to the UN Refugee Agency, an estimated 270,000 Afghans had been displaced inside the country since January, bringing the total uprooted population to over 3.5 million. White House officials noted that 28 US military flights ferried about 10,400 people to safety out of Taliban-held Afghanistan over 24 hours that ended early Monday, August 23 morning. Not only that, 15 more C-17 flights over the next 12 hours brought out another 6,660.

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Brian Chesky, however, did not specify exactly how much the company plans to spend on the said commitment or for how long refugees will be housed. The Taliban has set a deadline of August 31 to airlift which has given rise to concerns as many who want to leave the country might not be able to. Airbnb, which has a net worth of around $92 billion, has often offered to cover the cost of housing in emergencies. According to the company, 75,000 people have found a place to stay in a time of crisis since 2012. Airbnb's initiative faced a backlash on social media for reaping 'goodwill reputation'.

'Airbnb wants the owners to allow free or discounted housing'

People reacted to Airbnb's announcement of providing free housing to 20000 Afghan refugees and trolled the company by posting tweets like, "VRBO isn't donating the homes, the owners are ... out of their own pockets. If a corporation wants to actually donate to a charity, they should donate out of their profits. Currently, companies gets great press and then have extra to give to politicians to avoid taxes" Another user wrote, "They want the owners to allow free or discounted housing . How generous of them."

One tweet read, "Do they have the same compassion and generosity for the homeless on skid row or any other US city? Asking for a friend" Another user wrote, "Why didn’t they do this with the homeless in their own country first ? Cuz companies just want the international attention = $$$$$$"