

Airbnb's Global Growth - kurtvarner
http://www.airbnb.com/global-growth

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nupark2
An AirBNB unit was rented out in our building, and was a semi-regular source
of noise and trouble. So, we took the listing to the landlord and they shut it
down: it's illegal here now, and it's specifically forbidden in the lease.

The more popular AirBNB gets, the more likely it seems that this sort of
reaction will become the defacto one in popular areas.

This is already the case with large developments like Stuytown in NYC:
[http://www.betabeat.com/2011/05/31/airbnb-takes-manhattan-
wi...](http://www.betabeat.com/2011/05/31/airbnb-takes-manhattan-
with-2k-bookings-a-night-but-many-listings-may-be-illegal/)

~~~
timr
You know what? I'm fine with that. The idea of using someone's apartment oogs
me out anyway.

AirBNB is rapidly turning into the best market for small, independent,
_professional_ hoteliers. There are a lot of them, and Craigslist used to be
the only option for these folks.

~~~
nupark2
Actually, I believe many vacation home rentals were (and are?) done via VRBO.

Renting out an individual apartment -- even 'professionally' -- is not
necessarily unusual, but increasingly difficult due to the spotlight AirBNB
has brought to the process.

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pg
Wow, an infographic with actual info. I want a larger size version of the
graph of the Airbnb traveller network.

~~~
lsb
The traveler network looks awesome, but tough to use. What cities does Boston
attract vastly more than it draws Bostonians there? What cities do San
Franciscans go to significantly more than any other urbanites?

I tried a similar thing at TripAdvisor, using data from the Cities I've
Visited(tm) FB app. One of the interesting results was that folks who visited
Yellowstone disproportionately visited Zanzibar, compared to everyone else.
Both off-the-beaten-path parks, but still, it was fascinating to see data
backing up the hunch.

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anrope
It's funny, I was just thinking yesterday how I hadn't heard much about Airbnb
since all the attention from the robbery in SF this past summer.

There was a lot of negative press, and some serious concerns.

It's great to see that they've overcome that hurdle, and are growing like
crazy.

~~~
tyrelb
I'm waiting for an announcement from RideJoy - it's like AirBnB, but through
cars. I couldn't imagine the potential liability of strangers hooking up
online only to drive together...

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richardburton
What an incredible story. Think back 4 years to 2008. Where were you? What
were you doing? Imagine going on the journey that the founders of AirBnB have
had in the next 4 years. Some people out there are starting something that
will grow as fast or faster. I wonder what is going through their minds.

~~~
startupfounder
Love this thought process, most likely they are saying to each other something
along the lines of, "Let's raise money by selling Obama Os 2.0 cereal".

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jonmc12
This is awesome, but why does compete.com think their traffic is going down
since raising funding in July? <http://siteanalytics.compete.com/airbnb.com/>

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tyrelb
I assume their traffic is likely cyclical - students finishing semesters and
taking off to remote places for the summer. I would expect it to come up a bit
in December, again in March, then peak up again June through July.... then
coast back down.

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kurtvarner
I've been hearing a lot about design focused startups lately. It seems to be
the trendy thing to talk and debate about. I'm not going to side with design
over engineering, but I just want to point how well Airbnb has focused on
design. From every detail of their UI to their offline user experience, it all
has been designed beautifully. I don't think anyone can argue against the fact
that great design helped Airbnb become the success they are today.

~~~
thomasgerbe
"I'm not going to side with design over engineering"

It shouldn't be one or the other, it should work in unison. Design includes
aesthetics and user interaction. Airbnb wouldn't successful if the user flow
wasn't well crafted and a far superior experience than using Craigslist.

~~~
kurtvarner
_It shouldn't be one or the other, it should work in unison._

I completely agree. That's why I prefaced my comment by saying that I wasn't
siding. Most people talking about the subject will be strongly supporting one
particular side.

~~~
stefantalpalaru
So where should we put the lack of newline to <br> conversion inside place
reviews - design or engineering?

