Airbnb hosts in Ukraine are being flooded with bookings from people all over the world who have no plans to visit. It's part of a creative social media campaign to funnel money to besieged Ukrainians as Russian forces bombard their country.
Volodymyr Bondarenko spends most of his day holed up in his apartment in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Airbnb hosts in Ukraine are being flooded with bookings from people all over the world who have no plans to visit. It's part of a creative social media campaign to funnel money to besieged Ukrainians who need financial assistance as Russian forces bombard their country and cut off services. "More than 10 bookings came in today. This was surprising, it's very supportive at the moment," Bondarenko, 36, told CNN early Friday."I told many of my relatives and friends that I plan to use this money to help our people who need it at this time."Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty ImagesThe call for guests to book Airbnbs in Ukraine started online, where supporters urged people to book rooms as close to a check-in date as possible to ensure hosts receive fees quickly.
show immaculate wooden floors, an overstuffed gray couch and a sloped skylight. The two-bedroom apartment is nearly fully booked for the next few months."I hope that you, and your lovely apartment, are safe and that this horrible war is over ... and Ukraine is safe," it said."I will come and see you one day, please count on it, and will stay with you when we visit. God bless you and God be with you, your city, your country.
"We are alive, but we want to live as before," she said."It's very scary in Kyiv. Every word of support is valuable, not necessarily money." He was surprised to see Brooklyn-based Valerie Zimmer -- who was born in Kyiv and stayed at his rental three years ago while visiting family -- recently booked his place for a week's stay.
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