エアビーアンドビーでウクライナ市民を直接支援

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】米民泊仲介大手エアビーアンドビーで、ロシアに侵攻されているウクライナの物件に予約を入れる動きが広がっている。実際に宿泊するのではなく、現地ホストを直接支援するのが目的だ。（資料写真）
　同社の広報は８日、ウクライナで先週の２日間に６万１０００泊以上の予約があり、料金は約１９０万ドル（約２億２０００万円）以上になったとＡＦＰに明らかにした。
　エアビーアンドビーがこの運動を立ち上げたわけではないが、ブライアン・チェスキー最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）がツイッターでウクライナのホストを助けるために立ち上がったユーザーからのメッセージを紹介するなど、積極的に支援している。
　カナダのメーガン・バンフォードさんはウクライナの首都キエフと第２の都市ハリコフの物件を夫婦で予約したという。
　バンフォードさんは「危機の真っただ中にある人がいる」「そうした人の口座に直接お金を届けられれば、キエフ首都圏のような場所にとどまるしかない人が退避できるようになるかもしれない」と主張した。
　バンフォードさん夫婦は慈善団体への寄付も行っているが、エアビーアンドビーを使って直接かつ素早くウクライナの人たちに現金を届けることができたと語った。
　バンフォードさんは、ウクライナのホストから戦争がいかに恐ろしいか、世界が見ていてくれていることにどれほど感謝しているかを伝えるメッセージを受け取ったとして、「５年前にエアビーアンドビーが戦時下でも通用する通信手段になると聞かされていたら、ばかげていると思ったことだろう」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/03/10-09:39）

Thousands of Airbnb users have booked vacation rentals in war-battered Ukraine, not to visit but to provide aid to local hosts struggling to survive the Russian invasion.
Over a two-day period last week, some $1.9 million was spent on reservations for more than 61,000 nights in Ukraine, a spokesperson for the San Francisco-based company told AFP on Tuesday.
The outpouring of support came as Airbnb announced a suspension of its business in Russia and Belarus, joining a US tech freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
After booking their rentals on Airbnb, some users shared on social media the heart-stirring responses they received from Ukrainian hosts thanking them for financial and moral support.
One user told AFP that she and her husband had made reservations in the besieged cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv.
You have people that are in the middle of an active crisis, said Meghan Bamford, of Edmonton, Canada.
If you can get money directly into their accounts, that's the difference between somebody being forced to stay in somewhere like Kyiv or surrounding communities or potentially being able to get out.
Bamford and her husband still donate to relief organizations, but said they used Airbnb to quickly get cash directly to Ukrainians.
Airbnb did not start the campaign, but actively supports it.
Chief executive Brian Chesky has taken to Twitter to broadcast messages from users who have stepped up to help Ukrainian hosts.
Bamford said that hosts have expressed to her in messages how terrifying the war is, and how thankful they were to know the world is watching.
It's very humbling to sit at home in Canada, very safe and comfortable, and just realize that you're hearing from these people that are in the middle of everything you're seeing everywhere, Bamford told AFP.
If someone had told me 5 years ago that Airbnb would become a viable form of wartime communication, I would have thought that was crazy.
Airbnb announced last week that it would offer free short-term stays to up to 100,000 people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
About 28,000 Airbnb hosts around the world, including 2,800 in France, are currently offering accommodation for refugees, and donations of more than $1.2 million have poured into its refugee fund, the company told AFP.