Airbnb
Airbnb organises free visit for Amsterdam residents and contributes to Night Watch restoration
In May, Airbnb and Rijksmuseum have announced a free open evening at the museum to give Amsterdammers who haven’t seen the famous Night Watch painting, the opportunity to view the artwork and enjoy the shared cultural heritage that makes Amsterdam unique.
The free open evening has taken place on 11 July 2022 and enabled up to 2000 Amsterdammers to access the museum for free.
The Rijksmuseum is in the midst of Operation Night Watch, the largest research and restoration project in the history of this world-famous painting. Visitors to the museum will be able to view the artwork and learn about the work of the researchers and restorers who are looking after the painting.
Airbnb also announced it has donated €350K to Rijksmuseum from its Amsterdam Community Fund, launched last year to support a more sustainable return of tourism in Amsterdam, and to give back to local communities. The donation has supported the restoration of the Night Watch.
We are delighted that the stays on our platform will support the restoration of the Night Watch, and help enable more Amsterdammers to access The Rijksmuseum to enjoy its most famous resident. This important restoration project is close to many Amsterdammers' hearts, and we are proud that we can be part of opening the museum to Amsterdammers.
Pieter Guldemond, Head of Policy Northern Europe van Airbnb
We are very grateful to Airbnb for this generous gesture. We also see it as a major priority to spread the benefits of tourism to all Amsterdammers. Rembrandt’s Night Watch is owned by the City of Amsterdam and therefore belongs a bit to every Amsterdammer. With the donation we can fulfil our responsibility to preserve the painting for the future and in due time show the results of the restoration to as many locals as possible. We want to share this with everyone and in particular with the residents of Amsterdam.
Hendrikje Crebolder, Director of Development & Media at Rijksmuseum
The donation follows Airbnb’s voluntary implementation and support of registration for holiday rentals, and the launch of the Airbnb City Portal in all G4 cities. These actions are helping to strengthen communities by making it easier for each municipality to identify and report bad actors on the platform, for example, suspected non-compliant listings with an incorrect registration number or invalid exemption.
