Online accomodation app Airbnb has has launched an initiative for hosts to offer free home stays for cancer patients who need to travel for treatment or for respite care.
The Airbnb Medical Stays project – currently being rolled out in the US – is part of the company’s Open Homes program designed so that Airbnb hosts can offer free housing to vulnerable groups such as refugees and communities recovering from natural disasters.
The company has now joined forces with cancer groups such as the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Support Community, to extend the free accomodation initiative to cancer patients
While the basic concept is for hosts to give their accommodation free of charge to cancer patients who may need to travel and stay away from home for longer periods of time, the company has kicked in A$1.7 million in grants to the organisations to pay for accommodation when none is being offered for free.
According to Airbnb, around 2,000 cancer patients and their families have booked housing through the Open Homes program, with the company having an overall goal of housing 100,000 people by 2022.
To qualify for the free housing, cancer patients and their caregivers need to meet specific geographic and income criteria
Airbnb had not responded to requests from the limbic at time of writing if the service was available for Australia but the link to register as a host is available internationally.