• by Danielle Oster , December 3, 2025

As Airbnb faces backlash for the impact of its short-term rental properties on the national housing crisis, the company’s nonprofit launched an end-of-year campaign about the importance of emergency housing for individuals and families impacted by natural disasters.

Set to the song “Lean On Me,” the “Gift A Night” campaign hero ad dramatizes the situation of families who find their homes uninhabitable in the wake of natural disasters, and find the comfort of having a place to stay. It concludes with the claim that Airbnb.org, the company's nonprofit, has provided 1.6 million nights of free emergency housing -- and suggests  viewers “Be somebody to lean on” and “Gift a night to a family in need.”

The idea emerged in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when an Airbnb host offered to let people impacted by the hurricane stay at her place for free. More than 60,000 Airbnb hosts across 135 countries have provided complimentary housing to more than 250,000 people impacted by disasters since the launch of the organization.

A campaign landing site on Airbnb.org informs viewers that it costs an average of $110 to house per night to house a family impacted by crisis, pledging to match donations through Dec. 31, and provides a link to the donation page.

This good-will-boosting campaign arrives as Airbnb also faces a broad backlash due to the perceived impact of the brand to a different type of housing crisis, with both consumers and municipalities blaming the proliferation of short-term rental properties for contributing to the lack of affordable housing nationally.

According to a May, 2025 “Anytime Estimates survey of 1,000 Americans, only 36% of Americans have positive feelings associated with Airbnb and other short-term rental companies. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they’d be happy if Airbnb completely shut down, and 49% think short-term rentals should be completely banned in residential areas.

Back in June, Airbnb appointed Meta and Apple veteran Rebecca Van Dyck as its new CMO, amid a broad brand refresh campaign designed to shift brand perception with more of a focus on unique traveler experiences.

Airbnb also announced it has made an investment of over $1 million in the  FIFA World Cup 26 Houston Host Committee, supporting the development of a “Green Corridor” sustainable infrastructure project in the city. The investment in one of the FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities is part of Airbnb’s multitournament partnership with FIFA.

CORRECTION: The story originally stated that donations would cover "operating expenses for connecting people in need of emergency housing.” In fact, all donations made during the "Gift A Night" campaign will go directly toward providing emergency housing to people in need.