TORONTO -- Airbnb has received online backlash after the company encouraged some guests to send their former hosts 鈥渒indness cards鈥� with an optional monetary donation to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the short-term rental , eligible guests can send the personalized kindness cards 鈥� with the option to add a financial contribution 鈥� to hosts they have given a four or five-star rating to in the past.
The gesture is intended to show 鈥渁ppreciation or encouragement鈥� for the hosts, the company stated.
鈥淎irbnb will charge no fee, and 100 per cent of your contribution goes directly to the host. The cards make it easy to reach out to a host who鈥檚 provided excellent service during a stay or an Airbnb Experience,鈥� the website message reads.
Hosts who receive financial donations from past guests don鈥檛 have to keep them and have the option of passing along the donation to non-profit organizations that support COVID-19 responders who need to stay near hospitals or stay isolated with their family, on its website.
In recent days, a number of Airbnb renters have taken to social media to share their outrage after the company emailed them to encourage them to send 鈥渒indness cards鈥� with optional financial donations to their former hosts.
鈥淲hy would I donate to my host? I can鈥檛 even afford one house,鈥� in a post with an accompanying screengrab of the email she received from Airbnb.
Another guest called the message she received an 鈥渆mail solicitation鈥� from the rental company.
鈥淭his is nuts. C-19 is tough on everyone, but I can鈥檛 imagine anyone with free money to give out of kindness for past business transactions, however nice they were. Shaking down customers?!?鈥� .
A twitter user named Kimberly also appeared to be baffled by the kindness card request.
鈥淟ogging on to send a ~kindness card~ to people who *checks notes* own multiple properties?鈥� . 鈥淭op tier trolling @Airbnb!鈥�
Steven White, an assistant professor at Syracuse University in New York, also seemed to be perplexed by Airbnb鈥檚 new feature.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of weird COVID-related corporate marketing strategies, but Airbnb鈥檚 suggestion that I send a 鈥渒indness card鈥� to a property owner who deigned to let me pay them money in exchange for sleeping at their property is weird even by these increasingly weird standards,鈥� .
An Airbnb spokesperson explained the company heard from 鈥渕any guests who were interested in supporting and reconnecting鈥� with past hosts.
鈥淚n the spirit of rekindling connections, we developed a new feature that allows guests to send virtual cards with messages of support and encouragement to hosts who provided excellent hospitality. If they wish, guests have the option to add a voluntary financial contribution,鈥� the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca on Thursday.
Airbnb has also come under fire from hosts and guests on the platform for its in response to the pandemic.
In an effort to support hosts who have reportedly lost billions in revenue from cancelled bookings, the company set aside US$250 million in March to reimburse some of their losses.
Airbnb appears to be experiencing a recent boost in recent days, however, with guests booking more than a million nights鈥� worth of future stays on the platform on July 8, , which said it鈥檚 the first time that threshold has been reached since the beginning of March.
