Key Takeaways

  • Airbnb.org is providing free emergency housing to first responders after Colombia’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake
  • The August 10 quake killed at least 331 people and destroyed more than 31,000 homes across Chocó and nearby departments
  • Airbnb.org is partnering with Defensa Civil Colombiana, CENACED, Fundación Renacer and Save the Children Colombia to house crews and displaced residents

Airbnb’s nonprofit arm is putting relief workers up for free after the deadliest earthquake to hit Colombia in decades. The magnitude 7.4 quake struck the Chocó department on August 10, and Airbnb.org is now covering stays for crews staging in the hardest-hit areas.

The earthquake killed at least 331 people, injured more than 4,600 and left 240 missing, according to a Wikipedia summary of official figures tied to Colombia’s disaster management agency.

Shaking was felt as far away as Bogotá, Cali and Pereira, and reached into Ecuador and Panama.

Airbnb.org, funded by Airbnb and outside donors, is working with Defensa Civil Colombiana along with CENACED, Fundación Renacer and Save the Children Colombia to house crews close to the disaster zone between shifts. The nonprofit says it is identifying displaced residents in need of shelter alongside those partner groups.

“Alongside our partners, we’re already working to provide free stays for some organizations responding to the earthquake in Colombia as they help those affected begin the road to recovery,” according to Christoph Gorder, Airbnb.org’s executive director.

Fundación Renacer, which works to protect children from exploitation and trafficking, said it is expanding prevention work inside shelters set up for displaced families. Save the Children Colombia has flagged damage to schools, community centers and hospitals as compounding the crisis for young survivors.

The response follows a pattern Airbnb.org has repeated at scale. The nonprofit has logged 1.6 million nights of free housing since it launched in 2020, spanning wildfires in Los Angeles and France, hurricanes across the Caribbean, floods in Brazil and earthquakes in Japan and Venezuela.

Airbnb has separately moved on disaster and community giving elsewhere this year, including a recent $1 million pledge to Washington conservation nonprofits.

Hosts can opt in to offer discounted Airbnb.org stays for displaced residents, and Airbnb donates its host service fees on those bookings back to the nonprofit.

It’s a small piece of the platform’s broader push into how professional operators and hosts factor into Airbnb’s public-facing initiatives, distinct from the day-to-day booking business most operators track through platform fee structures on the paid side of the platform.

How the emergency housing program is structured

Airbnb.org runs its response by pairing local nonprofits and relief coordinators with hosts willing to open listings at no cost or discounted rates. The nonprofit says 100 percent of public donations go directly toward funding emergency stays rather than overhead.

Related: Airbnb’s nonprofit arm scaled disaster response nearly tenfold in two years

United Nations figures cited in relief reporting put the toll at more than 31,000 homes destroyed in the affected region as of late August, along with damage to thousands of schools, health facilities and water systems. Airbnb.org has not said how many nights of housing it expects to provide in Colombia or when the program might wind down.

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