From refugees to guests that belong

Airbnb

Government:Empty-nest house

Challenge:Keep the number of new hosts growing

Challenge:Number of refugees with a permit.

Challenge:Not familiar with ways to monetize their surplus space.

Chance:Concrete follow-up on brand promise

Chance:Running a harmonious society

Chance:Urn needed money and an adventure.

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Take care bnbRefugees become guestsSituation

ProposalAirbnb is unique and powerful in nudging people’s social behavior world wide, based on elegant technical solutions. In this document I present a promising fit between this unique power and several societal issues. I believe combining these holds great potency. This proposal has the working title ‘Take care bnb’.

I would like to team up with other Airbnb professionals and see wether it is possible to make this fit a reality and create a win-win that makes a real difference.

Urgent issues in society:* The number of refugees around the world is at record-hight.

As prof. Dr. Adrián Groglopo wrote in the New York Times, the fact that these people live separated from society adds to tensions and misunderstanding.

* The refugees who are allowed to stay, compete with local

citizens for the same popular space: one-person and cheap. Local governments struggle to make this work.

* Like other Western countries, the Dutch government fails to comply to their legal task to provide refugees housing. In the Netherlands alone they lag 11.600 places: people that have to stay in depressing places, in stead of building a new live.

* So called “empty-nest” households have quite some space to spare, while having a harder time to pay for mortgage.

Crowd-source refugee accommodation? I believe the successful methods of Airbnb of supply & demand could provide a working system-solution by connecting the dots.

It would be great when an adopted version of the Airbnb website rendered it possible to manage the hosting of refugees like it now manages the hosting of tourists.

This might present a practical solution: accommodation that is yet not available for this purpose will turn accessible. But more important, the refugee will participate in daily life within another racial and social environment, and can start to belong right away, not after living in isolation in containers for months after being awarded a permit, as is reality now.

This could possibly not only facilitate mutual understanding between him and his hosts, but perhaps the whole mutual perception of groups: the refugee might function as an ambassador as it were. Will the word ‘refugee’ turn to ‘guest’?

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Asylum request

Moshen

Localgovernment

Asylumdetention

Permit

Demand for space is large, irregular and of a difficult and specific type,

often 1-person.Capacity cannot respond fast enough.

Take care bnbSolution

capacity take care bnb

capacity take care bnb

government capacity deficit

government capacity deficit

government capacity

government capacity

capacity by housing target

capacity by housing target

15

15

15

15

Jan

15

15

19

19

24

24

May

12

1020

Sep

15

15

5

5

18

18

Mar

35

35

20

20

15

15

Jul

15

15

2

2

17

17

Feb

15

15

20

20

16

16

Jun

15

15

10

10

20

20

Apr

15

15

2

2

17

17

Aug

18

Okt

1016

23

Nov

1015

30

1017

Dec

Phase 1:Take care bnb creates buffer-capacity

Phase 2:Take care bnb adds to a durable solution.

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Scenario:To the right I painted a picture of how this could work.

In blue figures is stated how many places the fictitious local government is able to offer. The number in gold is the amount of houses the local government is obliged to offer refugees with a permit.

In January of the example this works out fine: 15 people find 15 places. But the figures in later months correspond better with reality: In pink you can see the deficit.

Take care bnb offers a solution: the green spots are place realized by people renting out their rooms for this special purpose.

The ultimate housing for refugees cannot be temporary: people need a reliable place with corresponding housing rights. The rooms offered by Take care bnb fill the need for a buffer. In these months the refugee-turned-to-guest can already start to learn the language, search for a job and prepare perhaps for family to follow. But most important they will feel that they belong within a new, but inviting environment.

A priceless gesture far from home and on the run for all kinds of terror, that asylum centers will never be able to create.

On the bottom image can be seen that Take care bnb can represent a durable solution as well. When the capacity realized by take care bnb can be guaranteed, this relieves the demand on this too popular type of home. This way the local government can lower the amount of these to be offered to refugees. This is seen in the numbers in blue italic.

Refugees become guests

Take care bnbFinancingScenario:

Airbnb can invite a whole new target audience to become hosts and travelers. Airbnb pays Anne in travel credit (in this example €150), and receives half of this in cash. Simultaneous this project is a great and very real implementation of the brand promise of #OneLessStranger.

Anne joins Airbnb during this project and will attain several targets: She feels great by making a real difference for a guest in need. She makes some extra money to pay for her house that grew too large for her budget: in this example she urns €375; €225 in cash and €150 in Airbnb travel credit. After this start she can out rent her room for the full price of €500 or more.

Moshen stayed some time in asylum detention. Now he has a permit the government cannot place him yet. He wants to get started living again. At Anne her place he can belong. He pays €150 a month in this example.

The local government cannot offer Moshen a place yet, but the law states they have to. By contributing €150 a month, they realize a vivid place that is part of the community: Moshen will start learning the language and opportunities much faster than stowed away in a container-home.Numbers in this scenario are indicative. Other arrangements might be better after performing better research together.

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Airbnbcoorporation

Airbnb host /local citizen

guest: (former) asylum

seekr with permit

Localgovernment

Anne

Moshen

• 30% of rental price inthe form Airbnb travel credit

• Logistics & administration

• 25% reduction of rental price

• General hospitality and connectionto friends and colleagues

• 30% of rentalprice in cash

• Being a pleasant guest• Language skills

• 30% of rental price in cash • Allowing the host to rent out

commerically for more thantwo months

Special

monthly rent as

displayed on

adopted Airbnb website(€500 in

this example)

• 15% of rental price in cash• Deliver brand promise:

#OneLessStranger• New market of host

• 45% rental price in cash• 30% rental price in travel credit• Allowed to rent out to commercial

rent more than two months• Contirbution to local society

• Place to live• Access to daily life with

opportunities to integrate

• Fulfilling housing target• Prevention from alienation

within local society

Refugees become guests

Take care bnbProposalProject development

I am Reinout de Kraker, a service designer with >7 years of experience in achieving strategic innovations focused on improving engagement with millions of consumers. I’d love to bring my expertise and enthusiasm to make this project a great success that will create headlines all over the world.

I already created a network to take the first steps in developing a pilot project and learn valuable lessons.

I would like to continue doing this as a contracted project manager for Airbnb. I believe supporting this project fits Airbnb’s roadmap of being a service that brings people together in a meaningful way. It would be my dream to join a team of other Airbnb team members regularly to make this work.

Reinout de Kraker

M: Reinout.de.kraker@blickwinkel.nlT: +31 611 075 369A: https://www.airbnb.nl/users/show/2069230L: nl.linkedin.com/in/dekraker/en

“A very special idea and I would like to discuss this further. If you want, I can forward this to Airbnb.”

“What a lovely idea. And certainly good explore further. It would be nice if hosting within this project would contribute to your super host status.

“Such an idea might be a solution for refugees. Definitely an idea to think about.”

Mieke de Graan, Group organiser Airbnb Amsterdam

Friederycke & Jeff, Airbnb members

Mirjam, Airbnb member

“A great idea that could work very well when you find the right partners. This could really contribute to the integration of refugees in local societies”

Adrian Groglopo, Doctor and senior lecturer of Social Sci-ence at the University of Gothenburg

“This sounds really interesting! I will discuss this with my fellow city council members and get back with you for an appointment.”

Amarins Komduur, City Council PvdACity of Pijnacker-Nootdorp, the Netherlands

“City governments struggle with their legal tasks.. Especially for empty-nesters this represents an very appealing chance to help and urn money.”

Prof. Dr. Peter Boelhouwer, Scientific director / professor housing systems, Housing and equity section

“Before refugees have a permit they are not allowed to leave the center. Once they have one, they need to vacate their place.”

Mariska Diks, Central Agency for the Shelter of Asylum Seekers

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Refugees become guests