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50+ Airbnbs You Can Book Right Now to Help Get Money to Ukrainian Hosts

March 8, 2022

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News

50+ Airbnbs You Can Book Right Now to Help Get Money to Ukrainian Hosts

March 8, 2022

The Russian military invasion of Ukraine persists with close to 2 million Ukrainians displaced from their homes. A new way to help (Forbes, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and Today) has been to send money directly to Ukrainians by booking rentals and never checking in – and Airbnb is even waiving it’s fees.

Here at HostGPO we have committed to booking rentals in each of the main cities under siege; Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odessa, Mariupol and Mykolaiv. We are all about supporting the Host community, and this is a quick and easy way to directly help Ukrainians in need.

One valid concern we have seen about booking Airbnb’s is that there are people who may create scam listings to cash in on pure intentions. Understanding this, we have put together some basic information that can help identify which units to book and also provide a list of vetted units that we have found.

Here is the criteria we used to vet these Airbnbs (which you can use too):

Located in a cities currently under siege (you can expand your search further)
Timeline of reviews. Reviews should be both recent (showing an active host) and also storied (showing it’s not a brand new listing).
Content of reviews (look for reviews that talk about the host, or show someone met the host and communicated with them)
Check other listings. If you click on a host’s name and picture, you can see other listings by that same host. (Please note: some hosts have actually set up new listings to obtain more help – if the new listings are linked to an actual listing with reviews, it is likely a legitimate listing).
Availability in near future. Hosts don’t get paid out until the day after the reservation, so the sooner the availability for the booking, the sooner those funds can be in a host in need’s pocket.
Stricter cancellation policies. This is great because if you are able to book and cancel (usually after 48 hours depending on cancellation policy) the host can still get paid and their calendar can be left open.
Check host verifications. Just like guests, hosts can be verified as well by providing ID verification and linking their social media. Verified hosts (the more check marks the better) usually means the booking is less likely to be a scam.

Below is our list of Airbnbs (and a few experiences you can book!) by city. If you know of any other Airbnbs not listed, or have any other vetting suggestions, please comment below and we will add them.

Be sure when you book to let the host know you are not intending to check in but that you are merely booking to support them in this grave time.