CREATING NEW AIRBNB HOSTS
The partnership will generate hundreds
of thousands of new hosts over nine
years, giving community residents the
opportunity to earn extra income by
providing accommodation and local
experiences to visiting fans, athletes
and other members of the Olympic
Movement. For visitors, the Airbnb
community will offer a more local and
authentic way to immerse themselves in
the host cities and engage with the local
communities. For the cities themselves,
the Airbnb community represents a more
environmentally sustainable way
of accommodating a surge in visitors.
AIRBNB OLYMPIAN EXPERIENCES
The IOC and Airbnb will launch Airbnb
Olympian Experiences to provide direct
earning opportunities for athletes,
underlining the IOC’s efforts to support
athletes and put them at the heart of the
Olympic Movement. To be launched in
early 2020, this new category will bring
Airbnb’s goal of providing economic
empowerment through hosting to athletes
across the globe – beyond the timeframe
and geographical location of the Games.
Promoting sport and physical activity,
these experiences will include everything
from the chance to train with an Olympian
to exploring a city with an elite athlete. In
the coming months, Airbnb and the IOC,
through the IOC Athlete365 platform, will
provide support and training to athletes
interested in becoming a host on the
Airbnb Experiences platform.
In addition, the IOC will make at
least USD 28 million worth of Airbnb
accommodation available over the course
of the partnership to athletes competing
at the Olympic and Paralympic Games for
competition- and training-related travel.
Kirsty Coventry, Chair of the IOC Athletes’
Commission, said: “On behalf of the
Athletes’ Commission, I am delighted that
our new global agreement with Airbnb will
benefit the athletes directly. This includes
direct revenue opportunities from sharing
their passion for sport through Airbnb
Olympian Experiences, as well as direct
support for their accommodation needs.
We work to empower athletes around the
world on and off the field of play, and this
agreement is another example of how
we are supporting and advocating for
athletes throughout their career.”
SUPPORT FOR REFUGEE ATHLETES
Airbnb will also support the IOC in
continuing to address the challenges
faced by refugees around the world. The
IOC has a long-standing commitment
to refugees, including cooperation with
the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) since
1994, the creation of the IOC Refugee
Olympic Team for the Olympic Games Rio
2016 and Tokyo 2020, and the creation
of the Olympic Refuge Foundation in
2017. Airbnb has been supporting refugee
initiatives since 2015 through its “Open
Homes” programme, which connects
generous hosts with those in need of
temporary accommodation, including
refugees. To date, more than 35,000
people have been housed in times of
need. Over the course of the partnership,
the IOC and Airbnb will establish further
programmes to provide long-term support
to refugees.
Airbnb has previously supported the
Olympic Games Rio 2016 and Olympic
Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 as
a domestic sponsor. A recent World
Economic Forum study found that
during the Olympic Games Rio 2016,
the additional capacity provided to
visitors to Rio through Airbnb’s platform
was equivalent to 257 hotels, saving
the city in terms of materials use and
carbon emissions, while also providing
approximately USD 30 million in direct
revenue for hosts and generating an
estimated total economic activity of USD
100 million in three weeks. Similarly,
during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter
Games PyeongChang 2018, Airbnb hosts
earned a collective USD 2.3 million in
income providing accommodation to
15,000 visitors who would have
required 46 hotels. And most recently, in
Japan, Airbnb hosts across the country
welcomed more than 650,000 travellers
during the Rugby World Cup period,
earning more than USD 70 million in host
income.
Airbnb becomes the Worldwide Olympic
Partner in the exclusive category of
“Unique Accommodation Products and
Unique Experiences Services”. Worldwide
Olympic Partners support every National
Olympic Committee and their teams, and
every organiser of the Olympic Games,
as well as providing support for athletes
and the development of sport at all levels
around the world. In addition, Partners
promote the Olympic values and help
create memorable experiences for fans
worldwide.
Jiri Kejval, IOC Marketing Commission
Chair, said: “Since it was founded in
2008, Airbnb has grown to become a
global household name. This partnership
supports the future sustainable
operations of the Olympic Movement and
demonstrates the ongoing appeal of the
Olympic commercial programmes to the
world’s leading brands.”
As a global Partner, Airbnb will support
the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the
Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, the
Olympic Games Paris 2024, the Olympic
Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and
the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
The agreement also includes marketing
rights for the IPC and the Paralympic
Games through the IOC-IPC long-term
collaboration agreement, as well as for
the Youth Olympic Games.