Airbnb has launched a program to provide free and subsidized apartments for healthcare workers, allowing exhausted and virus-exposed responders a safe, clean space between work and home.
The company announced it has partnered with businesses, governments and nonprofits to provide 100,000 apartments and homes across the globe.
“Medical workers and first responders are providing lifesaving support during the coronavirus outbreak and we want to help,” Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia said in a statement. “We’ve heard from countless hosts around the world who want to provide a comforting home to heroic first responders. We are connecting our nonprofit partners, government agencies and others with our incredible host community to work together in these extraordinary times.”
Nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers have watched workloads escalate as the coronavirus spreads and the number of serious infections mount. A Kaiser Permanente executive told The Journal of the American Medical Association last week that about half of the patients in the company’s San Jose facility were being treated for the virus.
Bay Area hospitals continue to brace for more cases, as the state’s shelter-in-place order moves into its third week.
Airbnb hopes to provide 100,000 units to some of the most-affected regions around the globe, and will waive fees for the service.
The short-term rental platform strongly recommends several measures to ensure a clean, safe space: renting entire homes, conducting deep cleanings, and allowing three days between stays. The platform also instructs hosts and guests to respect social distancing guidelines.
The San Francisco-based company implemented a similar program with 6,000 apartments and homes in Italy and France. It is partnering with several nonprofits, including the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Rescue Committee and International Medical Corps.
The company is encouraging hosts to join the program, and asking first responders to work through its partner agencies.
