War Is Keeping Tourists Away From Ukraine, But Airbnb Bookings Are Full. Because ... Humanity!

For nearly two weeks now, Ukraine has been under attack by Russia and it is an unlikely holiday destination, given the current crisis there.

But Airbnb hosts in Ukraine are seeing an increase in bookings in the past few days. These bookings, according to reports are coming from around the world.

Airbnb

And there is more... none of those booking have any plans to visit Ukraine. But they are still paying the hosts.

Volodymyr Bondarenko an Airbnb host in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv told CNN that he has been getting bookings from around the world.

"More than 10 bookings came in today. This was surprising, it's very supportive at the moment," Bondarenko told CNN. "I told many of my relatives and friends that I plan to use this money to help our people who need it at this time."

According to reports, this is an ongoing campaign to financially support the people of Ukraine who are under attack from Russia.

Airbnb

It started as a call on social media and has since picked up momentum.

A popular Instagram handle named Quentin Quarantino is said to have started the idea.

¡°Yesterday I shared an idea to support Ukraine by booking rooms for rent on Airbnb. 24 hours later, hundreds of people are booking Airbnb in Ukraine as a way to send immediate monetary assistance to people in hard-hit areas,¡± Quentin wrote on Twitter.

Yesterday I shared an idea to support Ukraine by booking rooms for rent on AirBNB. 24 hours later, 100's of people are booking AirBnBs in Ukraine as a way to send immediate monetary assistance to people in hard-hit areas. The messages in response from the hosts are so moving pic.twitter.com/ai2Je8VKCt

¡ª IG: @quentin.quarantino (@quentquarantino) March 3, 2022

Airbnb hosts like Bondarenko said they were delighted to see the outpouring of support from across the world.

Many of them even responded to those booking the apartments thanking them and stating they would love to host them once normalcy returns.

Airbnb has also joined the campaign, announcing that all fees linked with those bookings will be waived, further encouraging people to join the initiative.

We can confirm we are waiving all guest and Host fees on all bookings in Ukraine at this time. https://t.co/WCQEFGIlXC

¡ª Airbnb Help (@AirbnbHelp) March 3, 2022

This is yet another creative way the world has shown its support to the people of Ukraine.

An NFT of the Ukrainian flag, backed by a member of Russian activist group Pussy Riot, has raised over $6.7 million to support Ukraine¡¯s military.

Reuters

A fundraiser organized by UkraineDAO, a collective fundraising for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, attracted thousands of users who bid for a share of the digital image. The group said profits will be donated to ¡°Come Back Alive,¡± a campaign aiding Ukraine¡¯s defenses.

AP

There are similar NFTs including by Surrealist Waone Interesni Kazki, one of Ukraine's most famous artists. A Gallery, of his work, are selling NFTs of the artist's most famous paintings to support the people of Ukraine. 50% of the money raised will go towards funding Ukraine's defence and medical supplies via Ukrainian war charities.

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.