Yahoo Finance Airbnb ridiculed for asking guests to donate money to hosts
Airbnb has faced a backlash on social media after urging the public to donate cash to support hosts that are listed on their site.
The holiday rental site sent an email to members of the public who have used Airbnb in the past asking them to send donations to their former hosts.
"Like all of us, hosts on Airbnb are impacted by Covid-19 and many of them are unable to welcome guests," Airbnb wrote. "Now more than ever, it's important to reach out and support one another – even in small ways."
Airbnb said it was rolling out a "personalised kindness cards" feature by which people could send messages of appreciation to hosts and attach donations.
"We hope these cards will make hosts smile and bring a little joy your way," the company said.
The move, however, prompted criticism among social media users who argued those renting out their homes for short-term stays had damaged property markets, with one Twitter account saying: "The absolute nerve of Airbnb asking customers to send ‘kindness cards’ to hosts as if Airbnb wasn’t a prime reason that the rental markets in major cities are a shambles."
So many tone-deaf corporate approaches to COVID, but @Airbnb's 'kindness cards' feature is undoubtedly close to the top of that list.
— vespug (@vespug) July 14, 2020
"Airbnb has completely distorted local housing markets, consistently flaunted laws for their own profit, made cities unaffordable, but don’t worry, now offering ‘kindness cards’ to donate money to megahost landlords to support their investment," wrote another user.
"Why would I donate to my host? I can't even afford one house," one Twitter user added.
The backlash comes just months after tensions flared between Airbnb hosts and guests over refund policies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As lockdowns were enforced across the world and many guests had to cancel trips, Airbnb took the decision to extend its cancellation policies to allow guests to receive a full refund – overriding host choices.
Some guests have, however, struggled to navigate such policies and receive their money back, whilst hosts have complained over the hit to their finances.
A spokesman for Airbnb said: “We’ve heard from many guests that want to support hosts during this difficult time and our new e-cards allow them to share messages of support with hosts that may have welcomed them into their home.
There is also the option for a voluntary financial contribution, with no charges from Airbnb, that goes directly to the hosts, more than half of whom say they rely on the additional income from hosting to afford their home.”
