Helping Vulnerable Youth in the Pandemic

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on LGBTQ+ youth globally. With lockdown restrictions forcing young people to stay indoors, many find themselves in close contact with unaccepting, abusive, and homophobic family members, resulting in emotional distress, and at times, violence. Coupling this with the unsettling statistics that place LGBTQ+ at a heightened risk of experiencing homelessness paints a grim picture for those in a bad living situation during this pandemic.

As the World’s largest accommodation service for LGBTQ+ folk, misterb&b has been serving the community for years but has now teamed with Le Refuge to find urgent housing for young people who are at risk of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of Pride Month, Trend Hunter sat down with misterb&b’s CEO and co-founder Matthieu Jost to learn more.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with misterb&b?

I’m the CEO and one of the co-founders at misterb&b. I co-founded misterb&b after experiencing discrimination during a stay with my partner in a private room at a host's place in Barcelona. misterb&b is now the world's largest accommodation service dedicated to the LGBTQ community, offering 1M properties in 200 countries.

Can you speak to the initiative with Le Refuge, and how the partnership came to be?

With the pandemic, our business suddenly dropped in the beginning of March. After we managed to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the company, we thought our technology should be used to help those in need. We learned the lockdown had devastating effects on LGBTQ youth and that organizations such as Le Refuge in France were overwhelmed with calls and emails from distressed teens forced to endure verbal, psychological and sometimes physical violence from their 'loved ones', with whom they were forced to live 24/7.

We had already supported Le Refuge in the past and offered them to solicit us each time they couldn't find urgent housing for vetted young LGBTQs in need of a place to stay. Once they send us a request, our team mobilizes to find a matching accommodation amid a list of hundreds of hosts who volunteered for this initiative.

Can you speak to the unique dangers that LGBTQ+ youth face, and why this community might be more vulnerable during the pandemic?

During this unprecedented period, domestic violence has had particularly worrying repercussions for young members of the LGBTQ community. Many teenagers with limited options have been forced to remain confined with their potentially unwelcoming, homophobic families, leading to detrimental physical and psychological effects. Some are already out of the closet, others are still in the closet and feel trapped. In these conditions, coming out may be triggered by a growing and unbearable tension (in normal times, school gives these kids a break from their families during the day, relieving some pressure) and may result in more dramatic outcomes, like being kicked out by their parents. Since mid-March, Le Refuge faces 1 case like this every day at least.

What have been the results of your initiative?

So far, we have been able to provide shelter for a dozen young people in urgent need of a place to stay. The point is now to scale the whole process with our teams and technology.

What is the biggest challenge your industry is facing during this time? How do you plan to overcome it?

Obviously, our community suddenly stopped traveling and so our main challenge is to create an environment where they feel safe traveling and connecting with the rest of the global LGBTQ community through misterb&b again.That is why we have established cleaning protocols and issued brand new guidelines to support hosts and guests and help them adapt to the "new normal". We're also working on new cancellation policies to give real peace of mind to travellers when they book. We're confident we'll overcome this sooner than later: misterb&b dominates the LGBTQ accommodation market by far and we remain the top choice for LGBTQ travellers willing to travel and stay within their community. Also, hosts impacted by the economic crisis will consider renting a spare room or their primary residence as a great source of additional revenue. Private rooms (85% of our bookings) are a great match for guests traveling budget.
Traveling might be different post COVID-19 but our fundamentals put us in a very strong position to thrive once this is behind us.

Do you plan to continue a partnership of this nature moving forward?

Yes definitely. We are working on beefing up our "mister for good program", through which we already promote and support LGBTQ ngos. We are currently reaching out to US organizations like the Ali Forney Center in NYC to replicate the partnership we have with Le Refuge in France. More than ever, we're focussing on our mission to help create a more welcoming world.

What changes are you anticipating in your industry following the pandemic?

As for new trends in our industry, they remain to be seen. Longer stays? Trips closer from home? We are closely monitoring bookings happening on our platform, sharing findings with other players in our industry. Bottom line is that we need to remain very agile and be able to adapt quickly to any new trend.

What advice would you give to other CEOs looking for ways to help during this time?

If you're confident that your own company is "safe" given the current economic situation, then just think of how your technology, your teams, your back office, your expertise could be used or tweaked to serve a greater purpose. By the way, thinking outside of yourself is a great way to limit anxiety in these stressful times.

How can people help the LGBTQ+ youth during the pandemic?

You can donate to organizations that need financial support and know how to deal with these situations. If you're ready to host and offer an entire place (not a private room) for free for 1 or more nights, just register here.