Airbnb’s Chesky Says Russia Penalties Curb Its Operations in Country

(Bloomberg) -- Airbnb Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky said that U.S. sanctions on Russian banks have affected its ability to operate within the country and that “all things are on the table right now” with regard to voluntarily limiting Airbnb's Russian operations.

“As a practical matter, a lot of our business is probably going to be on pause just from the inability to be able to pay,” Chesky said in an interview Tuesday on Bloomberg Technology. “But we are looking at other steps. As you can imagine, we are just triaging right now.”

The U.S. has implemented a number of sanctions against Russia, including penalties on financial institutions such as the Russian central bank. Uber Technologies Inc. and Apple Inc. are among the U.S. businesses cutting ties with Russian companies and stopping sales of their products within the country.

Airbnb announced Monday that it would provide free short-term housing for as many as 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who are crossing into neighboring European countries. So far, the company has reached out to 14 different countries and the United Nations estimated that 4 million people could flee Ukraine. 

“These governments need to find a way to house them and we can provide an infrastructure,” Chesky said. “I think we're being viewed, I hope, as a solution to a problem that they have.” 

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