Ronald McDonald House Charity (RMHC) provides temporary accommodation next to hospitals, for seriously ill children and their families. Families often have to travel far from home to receive medical care for their sick child, and finding affordable accommodation adds to their stress and anxiety. The houses are a warm and welcoming refuge - allowing families to stay together close to the hospital where their child is receiving treatment. Sadly, up to 30 families are turned each week from every Ronald McDonald House due to lack of space - a heartbreaking reality for families who are already struggling to cope. As a result, many resort to desperate measures, such as sleeping in their cars, often for weeks on end.

We initiated the project with a trial, based around one Ronald McDonald House in Randwick, Sydney. This House is especially busy being situated next to Sydney Children’s Hospital and regularly turns away up to 30 families every week. Working with Airbnb, we created a message template which asked hosts (selected based on certain criteria such as rating), to donate their property, for free, to a family in need. When the house reached capacity, this message was sent out to the hosts, through the Airbnb hosting platform. When the host accepted, their property was added to a list in a dedicated Airbnb portal, only accessible to RMHC staff. This portal allowed them to browse the properties, select the most appropriate accommodation option and then coordinate between host and family to activate the stay.