Airbnb offering free places to stay for Harvey evacuees

(KRIV) - Airbnb is waiving its fees through Sept. 25 for Hurricane Harvey evacuees who need places to stay.

The short-term rental service announced last week it would give Airbnb hosts in the area the opportunity to offer free housing to those displaced by storm. The offer was initially planned to run until Sept. 1, but has been extended until Sept. 25.

Airbnb launched its disaster response program in 2012 in response to Hurricane Sandy. The company emails hosts in the impacted and surrounding areas asking if they have extra space to share with their displaced neighbors. The hosts have the option to add their listings to the database and Airbnb waives the booking fees for those affected by the disaster.

So far, there are roughly 400 listings available in Houston as well as Dallas, San Antonio and Austin for Hurricane Harvey evacuees.