Airbnb and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East—the largest healthcare union in the nation—announced a new partnership to provide housing to 1199SEIU members, many of whom are fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis across the East Coast. Through this partnership, 1199SEIU members in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Maryland and Florida will receive direct access to book free stays via the Airbnb Frontline stays program.
Airbnb also announced today that it will work with the State of New York to support frontline workers who have requested housing from the State, offering at least 2,000 hotel rooms through May 31 to these workers via the Airbnb platform and HotelTonight (part of the Airbnb family).
“These heroes are battling an unprecedented crisis and we want to support the incredible leadership of both the State and 1199SEIU who, as critical links in the chain of saving lives, are working around the clock to safeguard their wellbeing.” – Brian Chesky, Airbnb Co-Founder, CEO and Head of Community.
To help fund these frontline stays, Airbnb Co-Founder, CEO and Head of Community Brian Chesky will commit $2 million of his personal funds toward this effort, to ensure that the hotel rooms and short-term rental stays will be provided at no cost to medical first responders.
“1199ers are working hard on the frontlines, fighting to protect their patients from the ravages of COVID-19. Through this partnership with Airbnb, they will have a safe place to rest between their shifts, so they are able to continue to provide quality care to the patents who so desperately need it,” said George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “Thank you to Airbnb for recognizing our members’ service and helping to make life a little easier for them off the clock.”
1199 members and other first responders and frontline workers will be able to begin booking these stays starting today.
“New York is my home state—my parents were social workers upstate, and along with my sister, they still live in New York. The courage and resilience of first responders who are risking their lives to help their communities, and to protect people like my family, is inspiring,” said Brian Chesky. “These heroes are battling an unprecedented crisis and we want to support the incredible leadership of both the State and 1199SEIU who, as critical links in the chain of saving lives, are working around the clock to safeguard their wellbeing.”
Last month, Airbnb announced Frontline stays, a new program to allow hosts to open their homes to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Airbnb is proud to share that its incredible global community of generous hosts have offered over 100,000 places to stay for people responding to the pandemic. Through this program, healthcare staff and other first responders can book both free and paid stays in 160 countries and regions, with hosts in Paris, New York City and London each offering over 2,000 places to stay in their cities for those doing lifesaving work.
New York State and 1199 join a number of partners and collaborators with which Airbnb is currently working to make a meaningful impact in the fight against the pandemic. At launch, Airbnb announced its work with partners including the French government, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Medical Corps and the International Rescue Committee. Since then, Airbnb has begun work with NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom, Barcelona Official Doctors Association in Spain and Sutter Health.
Hosts interested in providing housing for first responders can sign up here. First responder organizations who have a need can visit here to learn more and sign up for support. If you yourself are a COVID-19 responder, get started here. And anyone who may not be able to open their home, but still would like to help, you can donate to help fund even more stays.
