Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) is a San Francisco-headquartered marketplace for short-term rentals, founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. The company popularized the alternative accommodation category and has grown into one of the largest travel platforms in the world by gross bookings, with hosts in more than 100,000 cities.
Airbnb is a two-sided marketplace charging both guest service fees and host commissions on each booking. It does not own any property inventory itself, instead relying on a network of millions of individual hosts plus a growing share of professional property managers. Adjacent products include Airbnb Experiences, Airbnb for Work, and host services such as AirCover insurance.
Airbnb is the global leader in short-term rentals by brand recognition and supply diversity, with particular strength in unique and urban listings. Its main competitors are Vrbo (Expedia Group) in whole-home vacation rentals and Booking.com, which has rapidly expanded its alternative accommodation supply to challenge Airbnb's category lead.
Airbnb went public in December 2020 in one of the largest US IPOs of the year. The company faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny in many cities worldwide over short-term rental rules and housing impact. Recent product investments include Airbnb Categories, Guest Favorites, AI-powered search and a renewed focus on Experiences as a growth pillar.
Events
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Airbnb says family searches for US coastal stays are up nearly 20% and claims its rentals beat hotel pricing in over 60% of beach towns, publishing a list of 23 destinations alongside CoStar-backed affordability data.
Airbnb has partnered with the IAFCI on consumer guidance for spotting travel scams, backed by research showing 42% of Americans have been scammed online and rising concern about AI-generated fraud.
An Airbnb survey of US Latino adults finds strong group travel demand heading to World Cup host cities, with 64% preferring to keep their entire group under one roof and 61% choosing short-term rentals over hotels.
Airbnb is introducing Earnings Protection, an optional paid insurance plan that compensates US hosts for lost income when unexpected events interrupt their hosting activity, in partnership with MIC Global.
Airbnb opens a free community-powered football exhibition in Mexico City and launches a fan day with Hugo Sánchez — the latest activation in what the company calls its biggest-ever event.