[UPDATED April 10] How hosts can provide housing for COVID-19 responders

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[UPDATED April 10] How hosts can provide housing for COVID-19 responders

Responders.jpeg

 

Many of you have expressed an interest in hosting healthcare staff, and first responders on the front lines. So we wanted to let you know about a new program we launched to help you do just that. Airbnb is partnering with our hosts to connect 100,000 COVID-19 healthcare staff and first responders with comfortable and convenient places to stay. 

 

We know you might be wondering how the Frontline Stays program works, whether or not your space is eligible, and how to apply. We’ve answered these questions and more at Airbnb.com/COVID. If you’re interested in applying for the program, you can do so using the online form at Airbnb.com/COVID19relief

 

As always, we appreciate the resilience and generosity of hosts in the Airbnb community. We know this is a challenging time for so many of you, and your desire to help others is such an inspiration. Thank you again for all you do!

 

Updated April 10, 2020

 

We’re so inspired by your enthusiasm for the new Frontline Stays program! We know you still have questions about how it works, so we wanted to take a moment to answer some of them here.

 

What kinds of guests can I expect to host as part of the Frontline Stays program?

Tens of thousands of COVID-19 responders around the world are looking for temporary housing right now. Many are nurses and doctors traveling to impacted areas to support local hospital staff, medical staff burdened by long commutes and back-to-back shifts, and relief workers who are exposed to patients every day and are concerned for the health of their families—especially those with elderly parents or infants at home. 

 

I’ve blocked off my calendar but want to help. How long should I leave my calendar open to participate in the program? 

We recommend opening up your calendar through July 31, 2020. Keep in mind that there’s only one calendar associated with your listing. Dates you make available can potentially be reserved by any guest, whether or not they’re a COVID-19 responder. If you only want to host COVID-19 responders at this time, you’ll need to turn off Instant Book so you have more control over who can reserve your space. The normal penalties associated with declining bookings don’t apply to requests from responders, so you don’t have to worry about that. 

 

Who can book through this program?

Healthcare staff and first responders must be either affiliated with partner organizations or reviewed by Airbnb prior to check-in. This process helps ensure responders have a COVID-19 work assignment and are familiar with safety protocols. If Airbnb is unable to confirm a guest's COVID-related work prior to check-in, the reservation will be canceled.  

 

How will I know if a guest is a COVID-19 responder? 

These guests will have a special COVID-19 designation on their booking requests and confirmations. So whether you have Instant Book turned on or not, you’ll be able to identify COVID-19 responders right away.

 

How should I price my space?

Many COVID-19 responders who are signing up through our program are in need of free or deeply discounted listings because they’re paying out of pocket for their stays. If you can offer COVID-19 responders a space for free, please consider doing so. 

 

If you’re not currently hosting on Airbnb but want to provide free stays for COVID-19 responders, sign up for the program here

 

If you’re already a host on Airbnb, sign up to host COVID-19 responders here—you’ll be able to set the price at your full rate, at a discount, or for free.

 

How do I set a discounted rate for COVID-19 responders?

If you’re a host with an active listing on Airbnb, you can set a discount for COVID-19 responders when you sign up to host healthcare staff and first responders. If you don’t have a listing yet but you’d like to help, create a new Airbnb listing first and then sign up to set a discounted rate for responders.

 

Once you set a discount, we’ll automatically apply it to reservations made by COVID-19 responders only, and you’ll get the price breakdown when you receive the booking request or Instant Book reservation. Please keep in mind that your calendar won’t reflect the discounted price for COVID-19 responders.

 

I’m trying to opt in with a discounted rate, and it’s not letting me. Why is that?

Thanks for your feedback on this issue. There was a technical issue with the opt-in experience for some regions, but that should be fixed now. If you’re still having trouble with this, please let us know in the comments.

 

We want to remind you that we’ve answered even more questions in our Resource Center article, so please check that out for additional information about the program.

132 Replies 132

Update!  Just checked my calendar and the additional 3-day block behind each of my reservations has disappeared!  Yah!

@Hilary79 I'll opt in again!  were you able to set discounts?  

Erica1023
Level 2
Atlanta, GA

I have a first responder who may want to book my listing for a month. I’ve opted in, but how do we get the service fee waived? Does she need to be referred or certified somehow?

@Airbnb @Stephanie I have the same question- I have a first responder ready to book. How do we get the fees waived?

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

I found the details. They need to be working for International Rescue Committee, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies or International Medical Corps to qualify.

 

@Inna22  Not surprising, but then, why worry about it?  Let the guests try to get the fee back from airbnb and just take the booking, or am I missing something?  

@Mark116 the first thing out of his mouth was complaining about fees. Since he was a first responder, I brought it up. He then asked me to sort it out. In a normal situation, that request alone would have meant I don't want to host him if he can't even look up info to save himself money. But these days beggars can't be choosers. If he ends up booking, he would get two weeks for the price of my one weekend night at normal times. 

@Inna22  Are you sure he's even a first responder?  Wow, people are awful.  You are putting yourself at risk, even if it is a small one, to  host someone during a pandemic and he's hassling you about fees?  If he is a real first responder then someone else is paying for the place anyway, his employer, a hospital, I'm sure he isn't paying out of his own pocket. 

 

I would tell them, that obviously in these times, much is changing and that airbnb has only just created the CO19 hosting option and it may still have some bugs, you have contacted airbnb yourself but they could not help you or fix anything w/their fee, tell  him as a first responder he may have better luck in talking to them directly.  You'd be crazy to take that money out of your pocket. 

@Mark116 you are totally right, it could just be a sob story. A guest told me this morning her mother in law died in a car crash just now and can I refund her. I looked up her social media profile and no mentioning of that but several joyful posts from just now. 

@Inna22  Maybe she hated her mother?  :-))

@Sarah977 I thought that first, but then why cancel a celebration? Double the reason now 🙂

@Inna22  See, you're still really funny.

lmaoooooo! I just burst out laughing

Helen350
Level 10
Whitehaven, United Kingdom

@Mark116 All the doctors & nurses who have stayed at mine for work WERE paying out of their own pocket...... pre-Covid 19. Of course I'm describing a different country.

 

 

@Inna22  @Kenneth12  @Stephanie The stipulations as to what sort of worker qualifies for the scheme might restrict the scheme to the USA, might it not? Other countries organize their workers under different auspices.....

 

I've just had a phone call from an (essential) carer, who has stayed 3 of the last 4 weeks. He wants to come back next week. Nothing to do with Covid 19. We'll make our own arrangements.

Jennifer1897
Level 10
Irvine, CA

I am a psychologist at a state hospital and we are dealing with quite a few cases of covid19, so I witness how hard all these individuals are working. I would love to offer my place but unfortunately this program does not allow people to participate if they are in shared spaces. =(