Two weeks later Russia invaded Ukraine, Gregory Offner looked for ways to help from his home in Philadelphia. Scrolling through Twitter, he saw people posting receipts from Airbnbs they booked in Ukraine, to get money straight into Ukrainian bank accounts. Offner was inspired. He chose an apartment in Kharkov, a city in the northeast that has been particularly hard hit, and booked four nights, for a total of $214. He left a note saying he wasn’t actually coming to stay – this was humanitarian staff.
The host replied the next day. “Thank you so much for your kind support, it means a lot to us now,” he wrote, adding that he would donate the money to the Ukrainian military. But Offner’s payment never arrived. The next day Airbnb canceled and refunded the booking. “I got an email saying that the person hosting or using the Airbnb account in Ukraine is ‘no longer able to receive money’ from Airbnb,” says Offner. “Like, what does that even mean?”
It meant – although the platform never communicated this directly to Offner – that Airbnb suspected the host was not legit. “We identified a handful of hosts who have not supported this effort in its intended spirit,” said Ben Breit, Airbnb’s global trust communications leader. After the donation bookings came in, some landlords created “ghost listings” for apartments in Ukraine that didn’t exist. In some cases, they may not live in Ukraine at all. That violates Airbnb’s policy on fake ads, even if those ads were intended to raise money. After Offner booked his stay, his Airbnb host directed him to several such listings in Kiev that he said could use some help from benefactors like Offner. The lists were all made this month.
People have now booked over 434,000 nights in cities like Kiev, Odessa and Lviv to show solidarity with Ukrainians. These bookings have amassed more than $15 million in aid, according to Airbnb. (The company, which normally takes about 20 percent of every booking, waived its fees in Ukraine.) But in the rush to get money to Ukrainians from abroad, some “guests” canceled their bookings without much explanation. , leaving them confused and uncomfortable about using Airbnb for such contributions.
In mid-March, Airbnb stopped allowing new hosts to create listings in Ukraine, an effort to minimize scams that also prevent actual Ukrainians from receiving money through the platform. The company has also said it “hardly evaluates” all listing activity in Ukraine and has taken steps to detect fraud. In addition to donating directly to Ukrainian Airbnb hosts, Breit pointed out that people could also donate to Airbnb.org, which was committed to providing free, temporary housing for 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine.
The enforcement efforts and the associated lack of transparency have caused confusion. Kevin Coyne booked seven different Airbnbs in Ukraine earlier this month when he learned about the donation efforts. For each he sent a personal note; most hosts wrote back to express their gratitude. By the end of the week, Airbnb had canceled three of its reservations. The company only wrote that the hosts “could not receive any more money”. Connor Martin booked a five night stay in Kiev; the company refunded his money on the last day he booked. He says he is upset by Airbnb’s poor coverage of why his goodwill gesture was rejected. “Horrible action by them,” he says.
Sybil Knox booked two Airbnbs in Ukraine — a loft in central Kiev and a modern one-bedroom with a jacuzzi — both of which were canceled by the company. She was given no explanation as to why, saying neither hosts seemed to have any red flags: Both were “identity verified” by Airbnbs, and they had joined the platform in 2013 and 2019 respectively. One of the apartments she booked had 125 reviews, with a rating of 4.92 stars; the other had 33 ratings and a rating of 4.67. When WIRED explained Airbnb’s policy to hosts creating new listings in the midst of the crisis, Knox had mixed feelings. She said that in a crisis bad actors can certainly take advantage of well-meaning people, and she wanted to know that her money would go to a real Ukrainian citizen. On the other hand, “people in difficult situations are thinking of ways to be creative to funnel more money for their business,” she says. “This campaign was limited to those who were already Airbnb providers. Other people couldn’t get on board.”
Both guests and hosts whose bookings have been canceled say Airbnb’s policy on donation stays has not been clearly communicated. After Airbnb refunded Offner, the host sent him a message on WhatsApp complaining that his account had been banned without explanation. “I have tried to contact the Airbnb support team and they were unable to provide a specific answer,” he wrote. “As a result of this lockdown, all reservations have been suspended and it is no longer possible to receive donations through the Airbnb system.” Since the money never reached him, he asked Offner to send a payment directly through WayForPay, a kind of Ukrainian PayPal.
