SickKids partners with Airbnb to host an eye-opening experience

Available on Airbnb.ca, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit replica aims to demonstrate urgent need for a new hospital

TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2019 /CNW/ - Today, SickKids announced it is partnering with Airbnb to open the SickKids Airbnb: an eye-opening experience located right inside The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) on University Avenue downtown Toronto, Ontario.

The SickKids Airbnb is an accurate replica of a stay at the hospital's Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), complete with the sights, sounds and all the emotions that come with them. The three-hour experience is valued at a total of $16,744, the cost for one night of operating a four-patient room in the PICU and is now available for booking on Airbnb.ca.

While widely known as a leading paediatric hospital, the reality is that the hospital infrastructure, some of which was built in 1949, now presents a daily obstacle for doctors and staff. SickKids Airbnb will take place in an area of the hospital no longer used for clinical care to bring Canadians behind the curtain and demonstrate the difficult reality at this world-class hospital.

"In order to demonstrate the extreme need, SickKids is going to extreme measures with this innovative marketing partnership," says Lori Davison, Vice President, Brand Strategy and Communications, SickKids Foundation. "While our doctors and staff continue to defy the odds daily, the reality is that the current infrastructure has limitations that do not support the needs of our kids and families. The SickKids Airbnb aims to shine a light on our biggest challenge – the building – to inspire Canadians to help us build a reimagined SickKids of the future."

The SickKids Airbnb Experience

Guests of the experience will be surrounded by state-of-the-art technology and some of the smartest minds in the country. However, due to the limitations of the current space, they can expect very little privacy or comfort. The room is built with four beds, four chairs and one shared washroom down the hallway. Designed to help raise awareness of the reality of the hospital, guests will experience the same struggles for space and privacy that SickKids families and staff face daily.

"Airbnb believes in strengthening local communities, which is why we are partnering with SickKids and supporting their fight for the health and well-being of children," said Alexandra Dagg, spokesperson for Airbnb. "Thousands of Canadian families rely on the committed health team at SickKids every day and we're hoping to do our part by using Airbnb's platform to raise awareness about the reality of the SickKids PICU and the urgent need for a new hospital."

Before opening to the public, notable Toronto residents, including Toronto Raptor and NBA champion Fred VanVleet, newly engaged reality stars Kevin Wendt and Astrid Loch, and local television correspondent Lauren Howe were among the first guests of the SickKids Airbnb. Check out Fred's personal experience below and please let us know if you are interested in any additional content such as videos or stills.

Fred VanVleet's reaction to the SickKids Airbnb: https://youtu.be/N9H73FNpMsU

The entire bookable listing can be found here: https://www.airbnb.ca/sickkids

SickKids VS Limits

In 2017, SickKids launched the SickKids VS Limits campaign, the largest fundraising campaign in Canadian health-care history with the goal of $1.3 billion through philanthropy to build a new SickKids. The reimagined hospital of the future will not only help solve critical infrastructure issues, it will transform health-care for children in Canada and around the world with cutting-edge operating suites, more room for families and more room for the innovative technologies allowing us to deliver better outcomes.

Visit BuildTheNewSickKids.ca to learn more about the reality of SickKids and help us achieve our ambitious goals. Follow @sickkidsvs on Instagram and @sickkids on Twitter for news.

About SickKids Foundation
Established in 1972, SickKids Foundation raises funds on behalf of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and is the largest charitable funder of child health research, learning and care in Canada. Philanthropy is a critical source of funding for SickKids – one of the world's foremost paediatric health-care institutions. Thanks to the generosity of the community, and as a result of a record-breaking year in fundraising, SickKids Foundation generated an unprecedented $159 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. For more information, please visit www.sickkidsfoundation.com.

About Airbnb
Founded in 2008, Airbnb exists to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere, providing healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable. Airbnb uniquely leverages technology to economically empower millions of people around the world to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents to become hospitality entrepreneurs. Airbnb's accommodation marketplace provides access to 6+ million unique places to stay in 100,000+ cities and 191 countries and regions. With Experiences, Airbnb offers unprecedented access to local communities and interests through 40,000+ unique, handcrafted activities run by hosts across 1,000+ markets around the world. Airbnb's people-to-people platform benefits all its stakeholders, including hosts, guests, employees and the communities in which it operates.

SOURCE SickKids Foundation

For images of the SickKids Airbnb, audio recordings used throughout the experience or to arrange an interview with a SickKids Foundation representative, please contact: Erin Banting, No Fixed Address on behalf of the SickKids Foundation, [email protected]; Lynn Bessoudo, SickKids Foundation, [email protected]