Hundreds of Canadian Airbnb hosts open their doors, offering to house Ukrainian refugees

After watching his Ukrainian friends struggle with the invasion of their home country, Toronto resident Aditya Ahuja jumped at the chance to help by sheltering refugees.

Ahuja opened his second bedroom in late February to Ukrainian refugees looking for a place to stay for free or at a discounted rate.

"Canadians have always welcomed refugees, immigrants. I'm one of them," said Ahuja, who immigrated to Toronto from India almost six years ago. 

"I just want to play my part and support as much as possible."

Ahuja is one of over 700 Canadians part of a global network of over 23,000 Airbnb hosts who have signed up to shelter some of the three million Ukrainian refugees fleeing war since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24. 

Around 8,500 Ukrainian nationals have arrived in Canada since Jan. 1, which includes applications submitted before Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, the federal government says. That number is expected to increase as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada prepares to launch what it calls new immigration pathways — one of which is expected to open this week, the department says.

While Ahuja hasn't been approached by the company to resettle refugees yet, he says Ukrainian guests have already sought him out and is expecting his second one on Thursday.

Ahuja is spreading the word of the program, hoping more people consider hosting newcomers.

"People are very hesitant about it and not everybody likes sharing their houses," says Ahuja.

"But I hope some people are there, like me."

Airbnb first started helping to house displaced people in 2012, before establishing its non-profit arm, Airbnb.org, in 2020. It recently passed the milestone of providing stays to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide. 

On Feb. 28, Airbnb.org said it would offer free and temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees leaving Ukraine. It has since generated over $22 million US in donations from the Airbnb company, its founders and individual donors to fund refugee stays and its partnerships with settlement agencies.

Airbnb.org is helping to resettle refugees only in European countries like Poland and Hungary for now. However, the organization says some 4,000 U.S. hosts and and over 700 in Canada have also listed their properties as open for Ukrainian refugees and can work out arrangements individually, the company states.

Airbnb senior communications manager Matt NcNama says the company is floored by the support across the globe.