Airbnb is registering thousands of reservations in Ukraine from people who do not want to stay there: this is how its service changes with the war

Do you want to book a house to enjoy a weekend on the outskirts of Kiev? Or an apartment in the heart of Odessa, another of the Ukrainian cities that Kremlin troops have their eye on? Well hurry up. It is not a joke. In just 48 hours, Airbnb has registered reservations for more than 61,000 nights in the Eastern European republic. Yes, exactly the same country that for a week and a half has been suffering from Russia’s military attacks and has become the scene of a serious humanitarian crisis with more than 1.2 million refugees.

With tanks rolling through its streets and the hum of bombs and sirens providing the soundtrack, most guests aren’t likely to be planning a trip to Ukraine anytime soon. They book for a very different reason: to help local hosts. The slightly more than 61,000 “contracted” nights in the middle of this week, between Wednesday and Thursday, represent, according to data from Airbnb itself