Home rental company Airbnb is extending the welcome mat to 20,000 refugees leaving Afghanistan after the Taliban recently took control of the country.
The company’s CEO announced that Airbnb will pay for the stays and that the program begins immediately across the globe.
“The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up,” Brian Chesky said on Twitter.
He also challenged other business leaders to help those who need it, BBC News reported.
Chesky credits the hosts for making the initiative possible.
“While we will be paying for these stays, we could not do this without the generosity of our hosts,” he said, according to BBC News.
This isn’t the first time Airbnb has jumped into action at a time it was most needed.
Since 2012, 75,000 people have used the service to find housing during times of crisis, the company said.
Airbnb uses its nonprofit, Airbnb.org, to work with nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, to provide housing, CNN reported.
It will work with resettlement agencies “to go where the need goes” and adjust the support provided as needed, BBC News reported.
Chesky didn’t say how long the program will run or how long the refugees will be housed, CNN reported.
The fees associated with the stays will be funded through contributions from Airbnb and donations through the company’s nonprofit’s Refugee Fund, BBC News reported.
For more information, including ways to donate or to offer your property to help, click here.
Afghanistan takeover Young men who say they deserted the Afghan military and fled to Turkey through Iran stand in the countryside in Tatvan, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Turkey is concerned about increased migration across the Turkish-Iranian border as Afghans flee the Taliban advance in their country.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (Emrah Gurel/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Smoke rises after fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, in Kandahar, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Sidiqullah Khan) (Sidiqullah Khan/AP)
Afghanistan takeover A Nepalese army man in protective gear gestures to show the bus waiting for Nepalese people evacuated from Afghanistan as they arrive via Kuwait at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running a country severely short on cash and bureaucrats to potentially facing an armed opposition began to emerge. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Rahmat Gul/AP)
Afghanistan takeover In this photo provided by the Spanish Defence Ministry and taken in Kabul, Afghanistan, people board a Spanish airforce A400 plane as part of an evacuation plan at Kabul airport in Afghanistan, Wednesday Aug. 18, 2021. (Spanish Defence Ministry via AP) (AP)
Afghanistan takeover A Taliban fighter stands guard over surrendered Afghan security member forces in the city of Ghazni, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The Taliban have completed their sweep of the country’s south on Friday, as they took four more provincial capitals in a lightning offensive that is gradually encircling Kabul, just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war. (AP Photo/Gulabuddin Amiri) (Gulabuddin Amiri/AP)
Afghanistan takeover People near Taliban signature white flags wait for the arrival of their relatives, who were reportedly released from prison by the Taliban in Afghanistan, at a border crossing point, in Chaman, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Jafar Khan) (Jafar Khan/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Thousands of people packed into the Afghan capital's airport on Monday, rushing the tarmac and pushing onto planes in desperate attempts to flee the country after the Taliban overthrew the Western-backed government. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Rahmat Gul/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters display their flag on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running a country severely short on cash and bureaucrats to potentially facing an armed opposition began to emerge. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Rahmat Gul/AP)
Afghanistan takeover A porter pushes a wheelbarrow carrying an elderly Afghan woman with her family as they enter into Pakistan from Afghanistan at a border crossing, in Chaman, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Chaman, is a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, normally thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis cross daily and a steady stream of trucks passes through, taking goods to Afghanistan. (AP Photo) (AP)
Afghanistan takeover Afghan citizens pack inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, as they are transported from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. The Taliban on Sunday swept into Kabul, the Afghan capital, after capturing most of Afghanistan. (Capt. Chris Herbert/U.S. Air Force via AP) (Capt. Chris Herbert/AP)
Afghanistan takeover In this image provide by the U.S. Marine Corps, a Marine assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) calms an infant during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. (Sgt. Isaiah Campbell/U.S. Marine Corps via AP) (Sgt. Isaiah Campbell/AP)
Afghanistan takeover U.S soldiers stand guard along a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. On Monday, the U.S. military and officials focus was on Kabul’s airport, where thousands of Afghans trapped by the sudden Taliban takeover rushed the tarmac and clung to U.S. military planes deployed to fly out staffers of the U.S. Embassy, which shut down Sunday, and others. (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani) (Shekib Rahmani/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint that was previously manned by American troops near the US embassy, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. The Taliban declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. (AP Photo) (STR/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running a country severely short on cash and bureaucrats to potentially facing an armed opposition began to emerge. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Rahmat Gul/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Leaders of the Pakistani religious group Jamiat Ulema-e Islam Nazryate party distribute sweets among people to celebrate the Taliban's capturing some of the largest cities in Afghanistan, in Quetta, Pakistan, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Afghanistan's rapidly-advancing Taliban insurgents entered a western provincial capital, an official said Friday, hours after they captured the country's second and third largest cities in a lightning advance just weeks before America is set to end its longest war. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt) (Arshad Butt/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. The Taliban declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Rahmat Gul /AP)
Afghanistan takeover Hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. (AP Photo) (STR/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. On Monday, the U.S. military and officials focus was on Kabul’s airport, where thousands of Afghans trapped by the sudden Taliban takeover rushed the tarmac and clung to U.S. military planes deployed to fly out staffers of the U.S. Embassy, which shut down Sunday, and others. (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani) (Shekib Rahmani/AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters patrol in Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. The Taliban declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Rahmat Gul/AP)
Afghanistan takeover A Pakistani army soldier stands guard while Afghan people enter into Pakistan through a border crossing point, in Chaman, Pakistan, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. Chaman is a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where normally thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis cross daily and a steady stream of trucks passes through, taking goods to Afghanistan. (AP Photo) (AP)
Afghanistan takeover Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar, southwest Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Sidiqullah Khan) (Sidiqullah Khan/AP)
Afghanistan takeover A grave marker for seven soldiers is seen in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Section 60 is where the men and women who died in America's most recent wars, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, are buried. These seven soldiers were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, 27, of South Ozone Park, N.Y., Sgt. Fernando De La Rosa, 24, of Alamo, Texas, Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, Ind., Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, Mo., Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, La., Spc. Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, Ill., and Pfc. Christopher I. Walz, 25, of Vancouver, Wash. They died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Carolyn Kaster/AP)