Airbnb
More info
- Creator
- Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk
- Released
- Owner
- Airbnb, Inc.
- Type
- Short-term rentals
- Website
- airbnb.com
- Wikipedia
- en.wikipedia.org
Disrupted the hotel industry — "any spare bedroom can be a hotel". Local-resident complaints from Barcelona, Berlin, NYC have led to wave after wave of strict regulation.
Started as "AirBed & Breakfast" — air mattresses in the founders' apartment during an SF design conference. Y Combinator batch 2009. IPO in December 2020. "Airbnb-fication" is blamed for pushing rents up and draining housing markets in tourist destinations — several cities have banned or heavily regulated short-term rentals. Competition: Vrbo (Expedia), Booking.com, local players.