As wildfires, floods, and different local weather disasters develop extra frequent and extreme, Airbnb.org, the house rental platform’s nonprofit arm, is scaling up its emergency response efforts.
To assist that push, it has launched its most bold marketing campaign but: a collection of movies designed to indicate what dwelling can imply after every thing else is misplaced.
Created with R/GA, “Residence Lives On” spotlights three households displaced by disasters, providing a glimpse into how emergency housing might be greater than shelter—it could supply stability, dignity, and even moments of pleasure.
The marketing campaign launched on Tuesday, June 24, on Airbnb.org’s web site and throughout social channels. The manufacturing crew was made up of wildfire evacuees and Los Angeles residents.
“The frequency and depth of disasters are rising globally, displacing extra individuals than ever earlier than,” Christoph Gorder, govt director of Airbnb.org, instructed ADWEEK. “Our goal is to lift consciousness of Airbnb.org’s work globally and underscore the significance of emergency housing throughout these occasions—the flexibility to prepare dinner a meal, bathe children, and produce your pets.”
The marketing campaign follows three households who misplaced their houses to pure disasters: Juliet, Mark, and their daughter Delaney, who evacuated in the course of the Palisades wildfire in January and later reunited with their canine Louis by an Airbnb.org keep; Stefanie and Pablo, who fled flash floods in Valencia, Spain with their toddler daughter in October 2024; and Eshele and her son Brayden, who continued their routines—together with dance class and an eleventh birthday sleepover—after being displaced, together with 17 kin, by the Eaton Canyon fireplace in January.
“We spent lots of time speaking to individuals who discovered refuge in Airbnbs after disasters … to make sure that we have been telling true and correct tales about every household,” stated Gorder. “One of many first issues Eshele shared with us was that her son, Brayden, cooked pasta for her quickly after they arrived to assist relieve some stress for his mother and restore some normalcy.”
R/GA produced the movies in Los Angeles, the place crew members have been personally affected by the wildfires. Govt Producer T.Okay. Knowles misplaced his dwelling within the Palisades; Director Christian Loubek additionally evacuated.
“By drawing inspiration from the tales of actual individuals, we might showcase the main points of what the expertise of being evacuated from your private home is like. Issues like taking garments in a rubbish bag or having to improvise a spot to wash your child felt particular, but common,” stated Daniel Barak, world govt inventive director at R/GA.
Katie Edmondson, group inventive director at R/GA, added: “It was necessary to us to movie this in Los Angeles due to the emotional connection it could create with the story and the chance it supplied to assist assist the neighborhood’s restoration. There have been positively some tears on set.”
The marketing campaign coincides with a surge in exercise at Airbnb.org. Up to now 12 months, the nonprofit has supported 38 catastrophe response efforts in 11 international locations—probably the most in its historical past. That features providing free housing to greater than 23,000 individuals affected by the January wildfires in Los Angeles.
“No catastrophe is just too massive or too small for us to reply to,” Gorder stated.
Airbnb.org companions with nonprofits like 211 LA to distribute credit that permit visitors to guide Airbnbs for free of charge. In Los Angeles, almost half of bookings have been made inside a day of the wildfires, and a 3rd of these stays housed households of 4 or extra. One in 4 included a pet.
“Airbnb.org gives free emergency housing with velocity, location and luxury: three issues which might be important to individuals in search of a spot to remain throughout occasions of disaster,” stated Gorder. “Friends obtain credit score from us that permits them to seek out and guide the Airbnb itemizing that finest meets their wants, for free of charge to them—whether or not that’s a house with accessibility options, a pet-friendly house or a house close to their kin or their baby’s faculty.”
Past velocity and selection, Gorder underscored the non-public contact of hosts and the suggestions loop with visitors.
“Airbnb hosts go above and past throughout these occasions as nicely—some low cost their listings so that folks can stretch their Airbnb.org housing credit additional. We’ve additionally heard numerous tales of hosts offering issues for infants and babies, leaving additional meals and snacks within the dwelling, amongst different objects,” he stated.
“We regularly hear from visitors that past only a place to remain, Airbnb.org is offering them time to relaxation and have the house to consider what’s subsequent,” he continued. “Visitor suggestions helps form every thing from how we talk throughout future disasters to how we work instantly with hosts, and even how we construction our partnerships and allocate sources.”
This 12 months, Airbnb.org is growing catastrophe preparedness plans in 9 international locations, increasing its accomplice community, and rising its world host neighborhood. As Gorder put it: “We’re dedicated to sustaining what makes Airbnb.org distinctive: velocity, dignity, and neighborhood. The world is altering, and we’re adapting to fulfill it head-on—with urgency and coronary heart.”
