Airbnb suspends its rentals in Russia and Belarus

Airbnb announces it is suspending all its rental operations in Russia and Belarus

Airbnb has become the latest company to cut ties with Russia, announcing on Friday, March 4 that it will suspend all its rental operations in the country, as well as in neighbouring Belarus. According to market research firm AirDNA, the company has around 90,000 short-term rentals currently in Russia.

Earlier this week, the company’s chief executive and founder, Brian Chesky, had offered to house up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees for free, who had been forced to flee from the conflict that has befallen their country. He added that his company would also waive all booking fees.

In a wonderful gesture, users of Airbnb, despite not intending to travel there, as a gesture of financial support to its people, have now started booking rentals in Ukraine. “Feeling helpless, I booked an @Airbnb in Kiev for a stay this week knowing the money would go directly to someone there”, tweeted Australian Kate Hutchinson.

As a way of encouraging others to follow suit, dozens of Airbnb users have been seen posting their booking confirmations on social media platforms, as reported by news.sky.com.

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