In late August, home-sharing platform Airbnb announced it would offer temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan evacuees in the U.S. and around the world. 

As tens of thousands of Afghans continue to arrive in the United States, the company said this week it hopes to double the amount of people who will stay in its temporary housing locations.

What You Need To Know

  • Airbnb hopes to double the amount of Afghan evacuees provided temporary housing from 20,000 to 40,000, the company announced Thursday

  • The increase will be possible "if demand for housing aligns with supply in communities where refugees are resettling," the company added

  • Sacramento, Northern Virginia, Seattle and Dallas currently have the highest demand for temporary housing stays, according to Airbnb

  • To date, nearly 5,000 hosts have volunteered free or discounted stays to Afghan evacuees, and the company hopes to recruit more volunteer hosts in the coming weeks

The company will “have the capacity to go above and beyond its initial commitment to house 20,000 Afghan refugees” thanks to the support and donations from hosts, refugee resettlement organizations, government partnerships and individual donations, per a company blog post shared on Thursday. 

“If demand for housing aligns with supply in communities where refugees are resettling, these new resources could help provide housing for an additional 20,000 Afghan refugees,” the post added. 

Sacramento, Northern Virginia, Seattle and Dallas currently have the highest demand for temporary housing stays, according to Airbnb. To date, nearly 5,000 hosts have volunteered free or discounted stays to Afghan evacuees, and the company hopes to recruit more volunteer hosts in the coming weeks. 

It was not immediately clear how many of the volunteer homes are in the United States versus international locations. 

Temporary stays, which typically last one to two weeks, offer Afghans time to look for more permanent housing, or a place of transit between arrival and their final destination. 

In addition to the free and reduced-cost housing volunteered by hosts, other stays are funded by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and through donations to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, a branch of the company’s non-profit initiative, Airbnb.org.

In partnership with both the government and nine nationally-recognized resettlement organizations, Airbnb has so far placed 675 Afghan refugees in temporary homes in Sacramento, Seattle, Jersey City, Denver and Dallas. 

“Resettlement agencies expect bookings will increase as more Afghan evacuees move off military bases and into communities where they will resettle,” the company wrote in part. “Airbnb.org is also working closely with partners to assess temporary housing needs outside of the U.S. with the goal of expanding to other countries that have committed to resettle a significant number of Afghan refugees.”

The United States plans to resettle around 65,000 Afghans by the end of September and 95,000 by September 2022.

Last week, the Biden administration gave states tentative numbers on how many evacuees they can expect out of the first group of over 37,000 Afghans already stateside. 

Alabama and Mississippi are each slated to welcome 10, according to U.S. officials. Hawaii, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming and the District of Columbia are not expected to resettle anyone from the first group of evacuees who fled during the final days of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last month.

States with a historically large number of Afghans who resettled in the U.S. over the last 20 years — including California, Maryland, Texas and Virginia — are again welcoming a disproportionate number of evacuees, according to the data. Many gravitate to northern Virginia, the Maryland suburbs of D.C. and northern California — some of the most expensive housing markets in the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.