Airbnb hosts seek government assistance with loss of guests

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The tourism industry is one of the hardest hit by coronavirus legislation, Airbnb’s are just like any business and with fewer people traveling and booking rooms, they are seeing cancelations now more than ever.

There are dozens of listings in the Michiana area. Now Airbnbs are just like hotels so when there are events, sports, and school cancellations, the tourism industry takes a hit as well as Airbnbs.

“Certainly now we’ve seen a significant decline in travel and certainly that need still exists but unfortunately hosts that rely on sharing their home are struggling to make ends meet,” Liz DeBold Fusco the Senior Communications Manager U.S East for Airbnb said.

She tells ABC57 a lot of hosts rely on the income they make and now that it’s gone they are struggling.

According to her, about half of all Airbnb hosts say they host on the platform to make ends meet. More than half say the income that they make by sharing their space helps them to actually stay in their home. 1 out of 5 say that without that extra income they would face eviction.

Given this data, she said they sent a letter to the White House and Congress asking for assistance.

“For hosts to be considered in the federal government relief package that is being considered,” she said. “It seems fairly likely at this point that the major hotel chains will receive some relief as part of the economic recovery package and for our hosts who are really on the front lines of the modern tourism sector, they believe they should be a part of that as well.”

For more information on what Airbnb is doing to get those federal relief packages, click here and click here for the rules and regulations put in place to combat the coronavirus.