Charitable Giving

[Elliott102]

Good evening! I am wondering what everyone's thoughts on charitable giving is. If you donate nights at your airbnb rental, are those donated nights tax deductible? How many nights are you allowed to deduct if so? What approach would work best in getting you to donate nights to a charitable cause? I am a counselor at a school near Smithfield, NC and I am trying to pull together gifts for the teachers that I work with for teacher appreciation week next May 2026 and I am trying to figure out the best way to go about getting nights at airbnbs around NC donated to support these teachers. I work at a challenging school and these teacher are some of the hardest working I have ever met and would love to reward them. I know the easiest way to do this would be through airbnb gift cards but my staff appreciation budget is zero and I have not found a good way in with airbnb corporate. Any thoughts, advice, personal experiences, or even blunt honesty (telling me this is a terrible idea that will never work, lol) are appreciated. I have always been told by my momma that if you don't ask you won't know so this is me asking. Does this happen and if so, what types of requests make you interested in donating.  

[Helen3]

You would have to approach hosts directly that you want to donate free nights at their accommodation @Elliott102 

depending on which country you are in there may be tax write offs. 

I wouldn't see offering free nights to teachers you want to provide gifts for as a charitable donation.

Hosts that want to offer free accommodation for those in need do so through the Airbnb scheme that supports refugees and those affected by disasters . https://www.airbnb.org/

[Kitty-and-Creek0 · Accepted solution]

@Elliott102 

This is a tax person question, I think. The easiest would seem to be gift cards. There are issues with 3rd party reservations, so with a gift card, the teacher chooses their own and makes their own reservation, is perhaps the best. Depending on your tax law, you could get some amount of a write off for buying the gift card. Here we have a monetary limit on business gifts write offs. Also, the host may have house rules or policies that do not mesh with the teacher and their family. This is why we have not contributed stays at our place to local auction/fundraisers. It could get complicated...

[Elisa]

Hi @Elliott102 😊, 

Thank you for asking these valuable questions here.

What about you regarding donation requests, do you have a preference?

Our hosts have shared their opinions, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you!