Airbnb开始做慈善了,为无家可归者提供房子
For the past five years, Airbnb has stepped in during emergencies— the earthquake in Japan, or wildfires in Canada — to pair volunteer hosts with people in need. Now, the company has launched a new platform to formalize and grow its efforts. Dubbed the “open homes platform,” it’s a homesharing site for hosts motivated by goodwill instead of profits — and for guests motivated by need rather than wanderlust. To start, the platform will connect refugees with volunteer hosts in Canada, France, Greece, and the United States. People can register on the site — even if they aren’t already hosts on Airbnb — and list their homes. Social service agency partners will vet them, and then place families for stays from a few days to a few weeks. Ultimately, the site isn’t meant only for refugees. Site visitors can also nominate other groups of people for temporary placements, and the platform will expand to include them eventually. Airbnb has said it wants to house 100,000 displaced people within the next five years. Last October, Airbnb placed its first refugee in Oakland, California. It was part of a pilot program that the company ran in conjunction with the International Rescue Committee’s local Reception and Placement Center. To the homesharing platform’s clinically optimistic trio of founders, Airbnb is a social endeavor. Even as it has ballooned into a $31 billion company, the founders have held fast to the belief that its mission is synchronous with its business. |