KUALA LUMPUR: More than a thousand Airbnb hosts nationwide have offered their places for healthcare staff who are treating Covid-19 patients.
Endorsed by the Ministry of Health, Airbnb's Frontline Stays programme provides responders with safe and convenient places to stay while they carry out their duties.
To make the programme even more accessible, Airbnb is partnering with local grassroots movement Homes4Heroes to match frontliners with available stays.
Homes4Heroes is led by volunteers and civil society members from non-governmental organisations and movements, such as Yayasan Chow Kit, KitaJagaKita, Projek Wawasan Rakyat, UndiRabu and Pulang Mengundi.
They have collectively come together to aid medical frontliners displaced by new and sudden postings due to the pandemic and ensure that they have comfortable housing and reliable transport.
"We are delighted to partner with Airbnb for the Frontline Stays programme in Malaysia as we uphold a shared mission to help find and provide accommodation for Covid-19 responders," said KitaJagaKita team member, Hanna Alkaf.
She adds that having a supply of clean, safe and conveniently-located homes available and open to frontliners in every part of the country will make a great difference.
Airbnb general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mike Orgill said that they had received overwhelming response from local hosts to support the programme
"We are truly grateful to everyone who have signed up to open their homes to Covid-19 responders during this time of crisis."
"By working together with Homes4Heroes, the Health Ministry and our hosts, our collective efforts would help connect Malaysian healthcare workers with a place to stay as they save lives," he added.
Airbnb is committed to ensuring that all accommodation made available as part of Frontline Stays takes into account robust preventive practices and stringent safety standards.
Following the recent announcement of the Airbnb Enhanced Cleaning Initiative, which includes a standardised protocol for cleaning and sanitisation in the home sharing industry, Airbnb will launch the new Cleaning Protocol this month which offers enhanced procedures and guidance on how to clean every room in a home.
Free and paid stays can be booked by any Covid-19 frontline responder directly on Airbnb, or through local partners in Malaysia, including Homes4Heroes. The frontline responder must have Airbnb account and sign up for the Frontline Stays programme.
Malaysia is among the countries launching Frontline Stays in Asia-Pacific, following local programmes announced by Airbnb in Thailand, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.