Photo Gallery The Airbnb Revolution
Short for "airbed and breakfast," the Internet portal allows private individuals to offer rooms or other sleeping accommodations in their own homes. Customers pay a commission to the company in addition to rent for the days they stay. The predetermined amount is charged to the guest but held by Airbnb for 24 hours and only released to the host once it's been determined that the everything is in order. If you're looking for something lofty but grounded at the same time, you might think of staying in this Boeing-turned-lodging in Costa Rica ...
... and you won't necessarily have to sleep on an air mattress. In fact, sometimes the accomodations can be quite luxurious, as they are in this castle in Britain ...
... or in this villa in Miami Beach: "What eBay has done as a broker of possessions, Airbnb does for unique accommodations," says company co-founder Brian Chesky. The idea of an agency for temporary lodgings is not a new one, but Chesky has perfected and professionalized the principle and expanded it to a global scale.
Though significantly more modest, there are also places like this room in a student's apartment in Berlin ...
... or this tepee on an island off the Dutch coast ...
... or on this houseboat in Amsterdam. Here is the bedroom ...
... and here's the dining room. Airbnb reportedly already manages over 100,000 accommodation offerings in 19,000 cities and 190 countries. It now also offers a guest warranty, a voluntary settlement scheme worth up to 35,000 meant to protect hosts against theft and vandalism.
