AirBnb is doing their part to help out in the midst of Hurricane Matthew. The online rental company has said that they will offer free accommodations in Florida and South Carolina for people who are evacuating because of the storm.
The company has activated its Disaster Response Tool which can connect people facing mandatory evacuations with AirBnb hosts who are offering their residences up free of charge. Because there is a high demand for places to stay at the moment, the company is urging new people to sign up who would be willing to offer their home to someone in need.
So far there have been mandatory evacuations in Florida towns like Brevard, Martin, Palm Beach, Volusia, and Indian River counties, as well as voluntary evacuations recommended in Miami-Dade, Broward, St. Lucie, and Flagler.
Florida’s governor Rick Scott mentioned the opportunity Thursday morning.
“Partners like Airbnb are making rooms available for free. Visit Florida and Expedia also have listings of open hotels.”
This is the first time that AirBnb has activated the feature ahead of a storm, but they did use it once before during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
More information about the tool can be found on their official website.
