The rampant wildfires consuming vast swathes of Los Angeles have forced around 180,000 people to evacuate.

Many now don’t have homes to return to; the flames have ripped through entire neighbourhoods leaving properties as smouldering wrecks.

Dozens of businesses have now come forward to offer accommodation, transport and support to those who have had to flee.

Resources available include stays in Airbnb properties and Uber rides.

LA vacation rentals offered as free accommodation

Holiday rental site Airbnb is offering free temporary housing for people displaced by the wildfires.

The organisation has partnered with 211 LA, a non-profit organisation connecting residents with essential services, to put people in touch with property owners.

The stays are funded by Airbnb.org, a nonprofit founded by Airbnb that provides free emergency housing in times of crisis, and Airbnb hosts.

They are specifically focused on residents who have either lost their home or been forced to evacuate in the Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Sylmar areas.

More information can be found here.

Vrbo, an online marketplace for holiday rentals, is offering refunds to guests who have been forced to cancel reservations at properties in fire-affected areas.

LA fires: Hotels offer discounts on rooms

Hotels across Los Angeles are offering discounted room rates for evacuees.

Los Angeles Tourism has compiled a list of hotels that are offering discounts to those displaced here.

Hotels in Anaheim are also offering reduced room rates for those affected in the Southern California area.

Guests should keep their receipts and take photos of them to submit to their home or travel insurance company for reimbursement.

LA fires: Hotels welcome pets and Uber offers free rides

People fleeing with pets are being welcomed at various properties outside the city including the Hilton Irvine Orange County Airport, Alisal Ranch and the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.

Ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft are offering free transport – up to $40 (€39) and two trips of up to $25 (€24) respectively – to shelters for those in fire-affected areas.

Irish airline Ryanair is suing a passenger for €15,000 after unruly behaviour onboard one of its flights.

It is the first civil action of its kind in Ireland and comes as part of the low-cost carrier’s zero-tolerance policy for causing disruption on board.

The passenger in question had caused a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote last year to be diverted.

The airline has warned this will not be the last time it goes to court over unacceptable behaviour on its aircraft.

Ryanair sues passenger for disruptive behaviour

Ryanair filed legal proceedings in the Irish Circuit Court on 20 December for more than €15,000 in damages against a passenger that caused a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote to be diverted to Portugal.

The plane was forced to remain in Porto overnight on 9 April 2023 and the airline had to provide 160 passengers with overnight hotel accommodation.

“This passenger’s inexcusable behaviour forced this flight to divert to Porto where it was delayed overnight, causing 160 passengers to face unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday,” the airline said in a statement.

“It is completely unacceptable that passengers who work hard to enjoy a trip away with family/friends are robbed of the pleasure due to one passenger’s failure to behave.”

The airline has not given any further details on the identity of the passenger or what they did to cause the flight to be diverted.

Ryanair threatens unruly passengers with court action

The airline has underlined that future disruptive behaviour – which includes both verbal and physical abuse – may also be met with legal proceedings.

“Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft for the benefit of the vast majority of passengers who do not disrupt flights,” the airline continued in its statement.

“[The court action] demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment,” a spokesperson added.

Will other airlines sue over unruly behaviour?

While this is the first occurrence of an airline suing a passenger over disruptive behaviour, it could set a precedent for other companies.

Dr Brian Flanagan, an associate professor at the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University, told RTÉ News that “other airlines are going to be looking closely at it”.

“I think if it is successful you will have a lot of people in the industry being quite satisfied and you might also have potential passengers being satisfied that there is this avenue of recourse,” he said.

Edinburgh is set to become the first city in Scotland to introduce a tourist tax after the Scottish government granted powers to local authorities to introduce visitor charges.

Edinburgh’s city council has approved a proposal called the ‘Transient Visitor Levy’ to be introduced in 2026.

The fee has been set at five per cent of accommodation costs and is expected to raise up to £50 million (€59 million) a year to be used to make improvements to the city.

However, some tourism operators are concerned it will put travellers off the destination.

Authorities in the Scottish Highlands are also considering introducing a tourist tax.

Edinburgh to become the first city in Scotland to charge a tourist tax

Last September, Edinburgh officials approved a proposal to charge guests at hotels, B&Bs, hostels and holiday rentals including Airbnbs five per cent of the cost per room per night.

The fee will be capped at seven consecutive days and is scheduled to come into force on 24 July 2026.

A new report for the council’s policy and sustainability committee has proposed introducing a transition period to help businesses adjust.

This means tourists will likely only be required to pay the tax on bookings made after 1 May 2025 for stays after 24 July 2026.

The measure comes after the Scottish Parliament passed a bill that allows local authorities to introduce visitor taxes.

The city council says the funds will be invested in infrastructure, affordable housing, destination management and culture, heritage and events.

The tax is expected to raise up to £50 million (€59 million) per year by 2029 for the Scottish capital.

Council leader Cammy Day said 35 per cent of the proceeds will be earmarked for the arts sector.

Tourism operators concerned over introduction of Edinburgh tourist tax

The fee will bring Edinburgh in line with other popular tourist destinations around Europe including Amsterdam, which has a 12.5 per cent tourist tax, and Berlin.

However, some tourism operators worry the levy will make Edinburgh a less competitive holiday destination and deter visitors.

“It remains a very contentious matter,” Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, told travel news site Skift.

“There are concerns around the future total price point to the customer and what impact this might have on future bookings, especially by our domestic visitors when there are already signs of decline in bookings from this market due to the UK cost of living crisis still biting.”

But Day thinks the tax won’t put off visitors. “I can’t see a few pounds putting somebody off visiting the city,” told BBC Radio Scotland. “If you can afford to spend hundreds of pounds on a hotel room, you can afford a few pounds to support the city that you are visiting.”

Scottish Highlands mull tourist tax

The Highland Council is also considering implementing a tourist tax under the new powers introduced by the Scottish Government.

The region of mountains and glens receives over six million tourists a year, including daytrippers and cruise passengers.

As with the Edinburgh tax, it would be a percentage of the accommodation cost per night.

The Highlands region was already considering a visitor charge in 2019 and calculated that it would raise as much as £10 million (€12 million) a year to go towards improving local infrastructure.