Airbnb is providing NHS and frontline medical employees free locations to remain
The initiative is a local extension of Airbnb's global drive to connect 100,000 COVID-19 forces with accommodations
Hosts on Airbnb offer NHS and other frontline medical staff free overnight accommodation while doing their critical work, and the home stay company waives all stay fees. Hosts across the UK can register for the program and offer an entire home through Airbnb's Open Homes platform, created in 2012, to meet the needs of people in need of emergency shelter.
The initiative is a local extension of Airbnb's new global program to accommodate 100,000 health professionals, assistants and first responders who are fighting the outbreak of the coronavirus worldwide. Almost 1,500 places to stay have already been offered by hosts in the UK.
“The whole country is behind our heroic NHS and medical personnel fighting the coronavirus outbreak. We are committed to working with the Airbnb community to help what we can do, ”said Patrick Robinson, Airbnb Director of Public Policy.
“Working together, we can ensure that frontline employees find a free and comfortable place to stay if they continue their critical work. We thank our doctors and nurses across the country from the bottom of our hearts and are grateful to hosts who have already opened their homes in these difficult times. "
Airbnb employees provide direct support to NHS hospitals and trusts, and other health organizations, and help their employees to book accommodations.
The initiative builds on programs already launched in Italy and France, where Airbnb and local partners, including the French government, have announced that doctors, nurses, nurses and other medical workers who respond to the outbreak in the country have access to housing obtained from Airbnb. So far, more than 8,000 hosts have offered their homes in Italy and France and 20,000 worldwide.
