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History

See also: Timeline of Airbnb
Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia (right)

Shortly after moving to San Francisco in October 2007, roommates and former schoolmates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia could not afford the rent for their loft apartment. Chesky and Gebbia came up with the idea of putting an air mattress in their living room and turning it into a bed and breakfast.[1][2] The goal at first was just "to make a few bucks".[3][4] In February 2008, Nathan Blecharczyk, Chesky's former roommate, joined as the Chief Technology Officer and the third co-founder of the new venture, which they named AirBed & Breakfast.[2][5] They put together a website which offered short-term living quarters, breakfast, and a unique business networking opportunity for those who were unable to book a hotel in the saturated market.[6] The site Airbedandbreakfast.com officially launched on August 11, 2008.[7][8] The founders had their first customers in town in the summer of 2008, during the Industrial Design Conference held by Industrial Designers Society of America, where travelers had a hard time finding lodging in the city.[2][9]

To help fund the site, the founders created special edition breakfast cereals, with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain as the inspiration for "Obama O's" and "Cap'n McCains".[10] In two months, 800 boxes of cereal were sold at $40 each, which generated more than $30,000 for the company's incubation.[11][12] It also got the company noticed by computer programmer Paul Graham, who invited the founders to the January 2009 winter training session of his startup incubator, Y Combinator, which provided them with training and $20,000 in funding in exchange for a small interest in the company.[3][13][14] With the website already built, they used the $20,000 Y-Combinator investment to fly to New York City to meet users and promote the site.[15] They returned to San Francisco with a profitable business model to present to West Coast investors. By March 2009, the site had 10,000 users and 2,500 listings.[14]

In March 2009, the name of the company was shortened to Airbnb.com, and the site's content had expanded from air beds and shared spaces to a variety of properties including entire homes and apartments, private rooms, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties.[16]

One year later, there were 15 people working from Chesky and Gebbia's loft apartment on Rausch Street in San Francisco. To make room for employees, Brian Chesky gave up his bedroom and lived at lodging booked via the Airbnb service until the company moved into its first office space.[17][3] In April 2009, the company received $600,000 in seed money from Sequoia Capital[3] and, in November 2010, raised $7.2 million in financing from Greylock Partners and, again, from Sequoia Capital, in a Series A round, then announcing that out of 700,000 nights booked, 80% had occurred in the previous six months.[18]

In February 2011, Airbnb announced its 1,000,000th night booked.[19][20] In January 2012, the company announced its 5,000,000th night booked.[21] In June 2012, Airbnb announced its 10,000,000th night booked, doubling business in the previous five months.[22][23] Of these bookings, 75% of the business came from markets outside of the continental United States.

In mid-2011, Airbnb began offering US$50,000 of secondary insurance, called its "host guarantee", which covers property damage due to vandalism and theft. In May 2012, the company increased the amount to US$1,000,000.[24]

On May 9, 2011, Airbnb added a feature called "Social Connections" that allows users to see if they have common friends with hosts or guests via Facebook.[25][26]

On May 25, 2011, Ashton Kutcher, an actor and partner at A-Grade Investments, announced a significant investment in the company and his role as a strategic brand advisor for the company.[27]

At the 2011 South by Southwest conference, Airbnb won the "app" award.[28]

In October 2011, Airbnb established an office in London, its second international office.[29][30]

Due to the growth of international end-users, in early 2012, Airbnb opened offices in Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Moscow, and São Paulo.[21] These openings were in addition to existing offices in San Francisco, London, Hamburg, and Berlin.[31] In September 2013, the company announced that it would establish its European headquarters in Dublin.[32][33]

In November 2012, Airbnb opened an office in Sydney, Australia, its 11th office location, and announced plans to launch the service in Thailand and Indonesia.[34][35] In December 2012, Airbnb announced its strategy to move more aggressively into the Asian market with the launch of an office in Singapore.[36]

In November 2012, Airbnb launched "Neighborhoods", a travel guide of 23 cities that provides in-depth information via collaborative filtering to help travelers choose a neighborhood in which to stay based on criteria such as public transportation, dining, peace & quiet, nightlife, tourist attractions, and shopping.[37][38][39][40][41]

By October 2013, Airbnb had served 9,000,000 guests since its founding in August 2008,[42] and in December 2013, the company reported it had over 6,000,000 new guests in 2013, and nearly 250,000 properties were added in 2013.[43]

In July 2014, Airbnb revealed design revisions to the site and mobile app and introduced a new logo.[44] Some considered the new logo to be visually similar to genitalia,[3][45] but a consumer survey by Survata showed only a minority of respondents thought this was the case.[46]

In July 2014, Airbnb became the official jersey sponsor for the Australia men's national basketball team at the 2014 Basketball World Cup.[47]

In April 2015, following the Obama administration's easing of restrictions on U.S. businesses to operate in Cuba, Airbnb expanded to Cuba, making it one of the first U.S. companies to do so.[48][49]

In June 2015, Airbnb sponsored the Manor F1 Team and the Airbnb logo appeared on the front nose of the cars and on team wear including the drivers' overalls.[50]

In August 2015, Airbnb partnered with Tesla Motors to provide chargers at certain host houses.[51][52]

In the summer of 2016, at the request of three members of the United States Senate, the Federal Trade Commission began investigating how Airbnb affected housing costs. In October 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill charging Airbnb fines for violations of local housing laws. The New York Times reported that these events were related and part of a "plan that the hotel association started in early 2016 to thwart Airbnb".[53]

In January 2017, Airbnb led a $13 million investment in restaurant reservation-booking app, Resy, along with serial entrepreneurs Gary Vaynerchuk, Ben Leventhal and Mike Montero.[54]

Airbnb first became profitable during the second half of 2016. Airbnb's revenue grew more than 80% from 2015 to 2016.[55][56]

In February 2018, Brian Chesky said that the company is considering launching an airline.[57]

In February 2018, the company announced Airbnb Plus, a collection of homes that have been vetted for quality of services, comfort and design,[58] as well as Beyond by Airbnb, which offers luxury vacation rentals.[59]

Acquisitions

On May 31, 2011, Airbnb acquired a German competitor, Accoleo. This takeover, as well as other similar acquisitions, launched the first international Airbnb office, in Hamburg.[60][61] Prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, Airbnb acquired London-based rival CrashPadder, subsequently adding 6,000 international listings to its existing inventory. This acquisition made Airbnb the largest lodging website in the United Kingdom.[62][63] In November 2012, Airbnb acquired NabeWise, a city guide that aggregates curated information for specified locations.[64] The acquisition shifted the company focus toward offering hyperlocal recommendations to travelers.[65] In December 2012, Airbnb announced the acquisition of Localmind.[66] Localmind is a location-based question and answer platform that allows users to post questions about specific locations online. These questions are then answered in real-time by experts on the specified territories.[67]

In February 2017, the company acquired Luxury Retreats International, a Canadian-based villa rental company, for approximately $300 million in cash and stock, its largest acquisition to date.[68][69] In February 2017, Airbnb acquired Tilt.com, a social payment startup. On November 28, 2017, Airbnb began allowing users to split payments with up to 16 other travelers.[70] On November 16, 2017, the company acquired Accomable, a startup focused on travel accessibility.[71][72]

In March 2019, the company acquired HotelTonight, a website for booking last-minute hotel rooms, for over $400 million.[73][74]

References

  1. ^ Lagorio, Christine (19 July 2010). "Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, Founders of AirBnB". Inc.com.
  2. ^ a b c McCann, Chris (20 November 2015). "Scaling Airbnb with Brian Chesky – Class 18 Notes of Stanford University's CS183C". Medium.
  3. ^ a b c d e Carson, Biz (23 February 2016). "How 3 guys turned renting an air mattress in their apartment into a $25 billion company". Business Insider.
  4. ^ Geron, Tomio (14 February 2011). "Airbnb Goes Through "Pivots" Aplenty Before Finding Its Space". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ "New License to Explore: Airbnb's Nathan Blecharczyk '05". Harvard University. 10 September 2015.
  6. ^ Botsman, Rachel; Rogers, Roo (14 September 2010). What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. HarperCollins.
  7. ^ Schonfeld, Erik (11 August 2008). "AirBed And Breakfast Takes Pad Crashing To A Whole New Level". TechCrunch.
  8. ^ Geron, Tomio (10 June 2009). "From Crash Pad To Pizza Profitable, Start-Up Eyes Budget Travel Market". The Wall Street Journal.
  9. ^ Drell, Lauren (25 December 2011). "How Do Co-Founders Meet? 17 Startups Tell All". Mashable.
  10. ^ Spors, Kelly (11 August 2008). "The Business of Politics". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ Rusli, Evelyn (7 July 2011). "The New Start-Ups at Sun Valley". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Peng, Tina (24 March 2010). "Where to get startup cash now". CNN.
  13. ^ Malik, Om (22 Feb 2011). "What Every Startup Can Learn From AirBnB". GigaOm.
  14. ^ a b Rao, Leena (4 March 2009). "Y Combinator's Airbed And Breakfast Casts A Wider Net For Housing Rentals As AirBnB". TechCrunch.
  15. ^ Graham, Paul (21 February 2009). "AirBnB". PaulGraham.com.
  16. ^ Lang, Adam (23 December 2014). "Why is it Called Airbnb?". Rewind & Capture.
  17. ^ Wauters, Robin (21 June 2010). "Airbnb Founder Eats His Own Dogfood, Goes 'Homeless' For Months". TechCrunch.
  18. ^ Wortham, Jenna (10 November 2010). "Airbnb Raises Cash to Expand Budget-Travel Service". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Wauters, Robin (24 Feb 2010). "Airbnb Hits 1 Million Nights Booked As European Clone Emerges". TechCrunch.
  20. ^ Lee, Ellen (1 March 2011). "Airbnb passes bookings: 1 million nights". San Francisco Chronicle.
  21. ^ a b Wauters, Robin (26 January 2012). "Airbnb: 5 Million Nights Booked, Opening 6 New International Offices In Q1 2012". TechCrunch.
  22. ^ "Airbnb Celebrates Over 10 Million Nights Booked" (Press release). Marketwired. 19 June 2012.
  23. ^ Carr, Austin (1 September 2012). "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies". Fast Company.
  24. ^ "All eyes on the sharing economy". The Economist. March 9, 2013.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference coziesfacebook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Wortham, Jenna (25 May 2011). "An Actor Who Knows Start-Ups". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Black, Tiffany (28 July 2011). "Airbnb Mobile App Stands Out at SXSW". Inc.
  29. ^ Quinn, James (2 October 2011). "Airbnb set to expand with London office". The Daily Telegraph.
  30. ^ Taylor, Dan (6 July 2011). "Airbnb takes on Europe. Will it revolutionize the industry, again?". The Next Web.
  31. ^ Wauters, Robin (17 October 2011). "Airbnb Checks In With Springstar For International Expansion". TechCrunch.
  32. ^ "Airbnb to open European HQ in Dublin". TheJournal.ie. 13 September 2013.
  33. ^ "Airbnb to open European HQ in Dublin". The Irish Times. 13 September 2013.
  34. ^ Ong, Josh (2 November 2012). "Airbnb launches in Australia with new office in Sydney, coming soon to Thailand and Indonesia". The Next Web.
  35. ^ LeMay, Renai (5 November 2012). "Airbnb officially launches in Australia". Delimiter.
  36. ^ Russell, Jon (12 November 2012). "Airbnb targets 2 million properties in Asia as it begins introducing local customer support". The Next Web.
  37. ^ "Airbnb Neighborhoods – Your Local Travel Guide". Airbnb.
  38. ^ Roy, Jessica (13 November 2012). "Introducing Airbnb Neighborhoods, a Local Guide for Travelers Deciding Where to Stay". The Observer.
  39. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (13 November 2012). "Why Airbnb Neighborhoods could make traveling easier for all". CNET.
  40. ^ Baldwin, Roberto (13 November 2012). "Airbnb Introduces Neighborhood-Centric Travel Guides". Wired.
  41. ^ Lawler, Ryan (13 November 2012). "Airbnb Launches Neighborhoods, Providing The Definitive Travel Guide For Local Neighborhoods". TechCrunch.
  42. ^ Lawler, Ryan (20 October 2013). "Airbnb Has Now Served 9M Guests Since Being Founded, Up From 4M At The End Of Last Year". TechCrunch.
  43. ^ Lawler, Ryan (19 December 2013). "Airbnb Tops 10 Million Guest Stays Since Launch, Now Has 550,000 Properties Listed Worldwide". TechCrunch.
  44. ^ Baldwin, Roberto (16 July 2014). "Airbnb updates design and introduces controversial new Bélo logo". The Next Web.
  45. ^ Brody, Ben (17 July 2014). "This is Airbnb's 'obscene' new logo". CNN.
  46. ^ Mathew, Troy (16 July 2014). "Airbnb logo redesign: More people see hearts than naughty parts". Survata.
  47. ^ "Australian Boomers Sign Airbnb as Naming Rights Sponsor". Basketball Australia. 24 July 2014.
  48. ^ Olorunnipa, Toluse (May 11, 2015). "Cuba Is Fastest-Growing Market for Airbnb as Obama Cracks Door". Bloomberg News.
  49. ^ Macias, Amanda (30 June 2015). "Here's what it's like to stay in a Cuban Airbnb, where everything looked great but was actually broken". Business Insider.
  50. ^ Smith, Luke (5 June 2015). "Manor secures partnership with Airbnb". NBC Sports.
  51. ^ Kaufman, Alexander C. (24 August 2015). "Tesla Wants To Take Stress Out Of Vacationing With An Electric Car". HuffPost.
  52. ^ KOROSEC, KIRSTEN (24 August 2015). "Airbnb, Tesla partner to make road trips easier for Model S owners". Fortune.
  53. ^ Cite error: The named reference combat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  54. ^ Hartmans, Avery (9 January 2017). "Reservation-booking app Resy just got a massive investment from Airbnb, one of the most valuable startups in the world". Business Insider.
  55. ^ Kerr, Dara (26 January 2017). "Airbnb makes it rain, turning a profit for the first time". CNET.
  56. ^ Stone, Brad; Zaleski, Olivia (26 January 2017). "Airbnb Enters the Land of Profitability". Bloomberg News.
  57. ^ Rizzo (February 26, 2018). "Airbnb Founder Reveals Secret Plans to Launch an Airline". Travel + Leisure.
  58. ^ Sims, Amanda (March 6, 2018). "The Secret to Getting Your Home on Airbnb Plus". Architectural Digest.
  59. ^ Ting, Deanna (February 22, 2018). "Airbnb Plus and Everything CEO Brian Chesky Just Announced". Skift.
  60. ^ Bradshaw, Tim (31 May 2011). "Airbnb moves 'aggressively' into Europe". Financial Times.
  61. ^ Wauters, Robin (1 June 2011). "Airbnb buys German clone Accoleo, opens first European office in Hamburg". TechCrunch.
  62. ^ Kerr, Dana (20 March 2012). "Airbnb buys Crashpadder, its largest U.K. competitor". CNET.
  63. ^ Taylor, Colleen (20 March 2012). "Airbnb M&A Acquisitions Airbnb Acquires UK-based Crashpadder As Part Of International Growth Push". TechCrunch.
  64. ^ Hempel, Jessi (13 November 2012). "With Neighborhoods, Airbnb expands its horizons". Fortune.
  65. ^ Geron, Tomio (14 November 2012). "Airbnb Launches Neighborhoods For Hyper-Local Travel Guides". Forbes.
  66. ^ Van Grove, Jennifer (13 December 2012). "Why did Airbnb just buy Localmind? Local expertise". VentureBeat.
  67. ^ Ha, Anthony (13 December 2012). "Airbnb Aims To Get More Social With Acquisition Of Q&A Startup Localmind". TechCrunch.
  68. ^ Zaleski, Olivia; De Vynck, Gerrit (16 February 2017). "Airbnb Acquires Luxury Retreats, Beating Out Expedia, Accor". Bloomberg News.
  69. ^ MARINOVA, POLINA (17 February 2017). "Soon You'll Be Able to Rent Richard Branson's Island on Airbnb". Fortune.
  70. ^ Cook, Jordan (November 28, 2017). "Airbnb launches payment splitting for group trips". TechCrunch.
  71. ^ Coldwell, Will (November 27, 2017). "Access all areas: Airbnb expands into stays for disabled travellers". The Guardian.
  72. ^ Somerville, Heather (November 16, 2017). "Airbnb acquires Accomable to offer home rentals for disabled travelers". Reuters.
  73. ^ Griffith, Erin (March 7, 2019). "Airbnb Acquires HotelTonight to Expand Travel Portfolio". The New York Times.
  74. ^ Somerville, Heather (March 7, 2019). "Airbnb buys HotelTonight in deeper expansion into hotel-booking business". Reuters.
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