Accordingly, Airbnb has introduced a donation tool that lets people contribute to partners supporting COVID-19 relief efforts.

The project has its roots in pilot programs in France and Italy, where healthcare workers can already get free stays through Airbnb. There are close to 6,000 hosts in those countries, and Airbnb hopes its new program will host as many as 100,000 COVID-19 responders. Whether or not this happens, the effort might be important. It could not only provide comfort to workers under tremendous stress, but reduce the need for long commutes that make it harder to practice responsible social distancing.