Airbnb is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus

March 7, 2022: -Home-sharing platform Airbnb is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.

On Thursday, Brian Chesky, the company’s CEO and co-founder, announced the move on Twitter late as companies continue to boycott Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

The move may not significantly impact Airbnb’s bottom line, particularly as the vast majority of airlines have stopped flying to Russia in recent days.

On Monday, Airbnb said it would offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. The company will fund these stays with help from Airbnb hosts and donations to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.

Few people are booking Airbnb stays in properties across Ukraine that they don’t intend to help hosts in the country.

The movement began with the Quentin Quarantino Instagram account, which makes memes to raise money for charitable causes. The bill has more than 898,000 followers.

“Yesterday, I shared an idea to support Ukraine by booking rooms for rent on Airbnb,” the account’s operator wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “24 hours later, 100′s of people are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine as a way to send immediate monetary assistance to people in hard-hit areas. The messages from the hosts are so moving.”

Silicon Valley tech firms, whose products are one of the most widely used globally, are trying to distance themselves from Russia. Elsewhere, Apple announced Tuesday that it had halted product sales in Russia, putting pressure on other smartphone makers such as Samsung to do the same.

On Thursday, Google has suspended advertising in Russia, according to a report from The New York Times.