Helping Adelaide Hills Bushfire victims Dec 2019

Geri26
Level 10
Adelaide, Australia

Helping Adelaide Hills Bushfire victims Dec 2019

Hi all. 

 

Does anyone have any ideas how I can offer my spaces to people who lost their homes in the bushfires here in the Adelaide hills today?  I have them blocked for Christmas but the are clean and ready to go as emergency accommodation.

 

I don't do Facebook and the affected people must still be in shock so unlikely to think to look there anyway. For those of you in other parts of the world who assisted in times of natural disaster, how did you let people know you want to help?

 

 

6 Replies 6
Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

Hi @Geri26 

Theorectically, the best way to go about it would be to place your listing on airbnb's open homes programme - and select and button for emergency accommodation. HOWEVER I would strongly advise against this. I have heard numerous numerous stories about this being abused - the offer gets advertised to everyone looking in your vicinity - it doesn't take Einstein to figure out some dishonest person is going to make contact and claim to be homeless just to get a lovely free holiday.  airbnb doesn't vet the process at all - you have to do that as the host.  If you are Ok playing detective,  cross questioning people to get them to prove then are genuine victims, then that process would work well for you.    otherwise I would be ringing the relevant evacuation centre and letting someone there in charge know.  Much more likely to result in a legitimate stay.

Good on you for your generosity. 

 

Regards

Geri26
Level 10
Adelaide, Australia

@Rowena29 Hadnt thought of ringing the evac centres Rowena - that makes much more sense to me 🙂  As a single mum I am already careful who I accept as guests but didn't want to add to the stress of someone who has just lost their home

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Geri26 @Rowena29 Not all people are of the same clothe, in times like this you would also appreciate a roof over one's head.

Whilst there may be risks involved one never knows when one may be placed in the same situation and need assistance.

It's times like this that a little compassion goes a very long way

 

https://www.airbnb.com/openhomes/disaster-relief/bushfire-new-south-wales-2020-01

 

https://www.airbnb.com/openhomes/disaster-relief/victoriabushfires20

Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

Hi @Helen427 

It's not compassionate at all if the house is going to someone who is NOT in need and thereby depriving someone who is a genuine case. I am well aware everyone is not of the same cloth, but I do not believe it is reasonable to expect hosts to try to  sort out who is legitimate and who is one of those despicable people  who is  seeking to capitalise on others' misery.   

The  opinion  I offered to @Geri26  made from very direct experience, unfortunately.

We had horrific bushfires, three times in 3 months, less than a few kilometres from my listing.    

Almost immediately local hosts keen to help, who  signed up for the open homes disaster relief scheme,  began reporting a  huge influx of requests  that they were extremely dubious about - when they asked more questions it became obvious that the people requesting were not in any way impacted by the bushfires - they were just looking for a  free holiday. Some of them came from overseas.

I have no intention whatsoever of giving a freebie to these kind of scum. Similarly I do not wish to place myself in the invidious position of having to "police" and cross question people applying for the opportunity.  As I explained to Geri, when you are on the  disaster relief open home programme  it's announced in bold letters at the head of your listing that it's available for FREE,   IF you are a bushfire victim,  to ANYone who happens to be looking at it.  If airbnb is so keen to help, then they can establish a regimen that ensures GENUINE  cases  -  ie  only people who have been evacuated and/or directly impacted - are provided with the ability to apply. 

As a host I'm already willing to give up my listing for free - and potentially lose substantial amounts of income. I prefer to do so knowing with certainty that my home in being provided to a GENUINE person in need. Hence my suggestion to @Geri26, to contact an evacuation centre to ensure her compassion is not misdirected.

I do not regard being  pragmatic as lacking in compassion.  

The open home programme for medical  relief and the refugee programme IS vetted and I have made my listing available to both these schemes  since day one. For the record,  since it appears  my humanity it being called into question, I also offer my listing to Carers Australia which provides free respite short term holidays for carers of people with disability. 

I do not require a hyperlink to inform me about the severity of the bushfires. Multiple relatives and close friends are actively, directly involved in the rural fire brigades, and a substantial number  of friends and acquaintances have been  evacuated, some of them repeatedly,  in one or another of the multiple fires raging across  many states in the last 4 months.  I personally have been put on standby to be ready to evacuate twice late last year.   

In any case, the hyperlinks you provide are irrelevant to @Geri26, who posted 2 weeks ago, as she is based in Adelaide, South Australia, not Victoria or NSW. 

Regards

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

It sounds like a better solution for you @Rowena29  and others who are kindly offering up their homes for those in need, if Airbnb is not vetting those using the Open Homes programme properly, is to work with someone like the local Red Cross or other relevant charities.

 

They do vet those requesting support to make sure they are legitimate.

 

Thinking of all those affected by the awful fires in Australia.

 

Exactly @Helen3 , which is precisely what I had  suggested to @Geri26  

Thanks for your thoughts.

Cheers and Happy new year