Airbnb shelters med workers

More than 12,000 Airbnb hosts around the world have offered up their homes free-of charge as part of an initiative to house doctors, nurses and others on the front lines battling the coronavirus pandemic and worried about bringing the virus home to loved ones.

“Folks on the front lines right now are literal angels and saints, but they also have families and if there are things that we can do that both allows them to be on front lines and eases their minds in terms on the impact on their families, we should do that,” said Chris Lehane of Airbnb.

Airbnb on Thursday announced its plan to partner with hosts across the globe to offer free accommodations to 100,000 health care workers and first responders fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hosts can offer their homes for free or at a discount. Airbnb is waiving all of its usual fees.

The company’s online network provides a “unique capability” for organizations like the International Medical Corps to house health care workers brought in to serve hot-spot and low-resource areas, said CEO and President Nancy Aossey.

The program is a spinoff of Airbnb’s Open Homes, which launched in 2010 following Superstorm Sandy, which left thousands homeless in New York and New Jersey. The program has continued to connect people and first responders in need of housing during natural disasters like the California and Australia wildfires and hurricanes in the Caribbean.