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Published at FastCompany<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n With its innovative Open Homes platform, Airbnb will connect agencies aiding those in need with volunteers opening their homes\u2014and hearts.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n BY RUTH READER<\/cite><\/p>\n Soon after Donald Trump issued the first iteration of his disputed ban on travel from six predominantly Muslim countries\u2014a move critics said would adversely affect refugees from war-torn Syria\u2014the founders of Airbnb announced a bold plan to\u00a0provide short-term housing over the next five years for 100,000 people in need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After a series of tweets critical of the president, the trio of founders in early February made their pledge under the\u00a0#WeAccept hashtag<\/a>, declaring: \u201cTo help people around the world facing displacement, we\u2019ll work with our community of hosts to find not just a place to stay, but also a place to feel connected, respected, and a part of a community again.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Airbnb revealed how it\u2019ll meet the ambitious goal with the launch of its Open Homes<\/a> platform. Now, Airbnb will automatically be able to connect organizations like the\u00a0International Rescue Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Singa Quebec<\/a>, Inland Refugee Society of British Columbia, and SolidarityNow with available rooms. In all, seven nonprofits are linked into the new platform.<\/p>\n Open\u00a0Homes connects organizations seeking short-term stays and volunteers offering up their homes for a specific cause. When volunteers sign on, they\u2019ll be able to specify\u00a0the cause they\u2019d like to donate their room or home to. Nonprofits looking to set up a family or individual for a few days or weeks while they suss out\u00a0more permanent housing will be able to view lists of potential volunteers. The new platform automates much of the work that Airbnb has been doing manually up until this point.<\/p>\n Airbnb began offering up homes to refugees in the wake of President Trump\u2019s still-blocked travel ban, which the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled \u201cdrips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.\u201d The short-term rental giant\u00a0was doing much of the work of connecting nonprofit organizations with volunteers through a hacked together system of emails, phone calls, spreadsheets.<\/p>\n \u201cDozens of man hours to settle one family in one place,\u201d Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia tells\u00a0Fast Company<\/em>. \u201cHighly inefficient and highly unscalable.\u201d<\/p>\n The work to connect displaced persons with housing began five years ago, amid the tumult of Hurricane Sandy. An Airbnb host asked if it was possible for her to house people left stranded by the storm surge for free. Gebbia says that request initiated a hackathon of sorts to allow Airbnb hosts to accept a guest without taking credit card information. It was the beginning of what would become Airbnb\u2019s now global platform for connecting people in need with short-term shelter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n