TOPIC

/ company

Airbnb

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Airbnb. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Chairman / President

Brian Chesky

CEO / Managing Director

Brian Chesky

CFO / Finance Director

Ellie Mertz

Industry

Vacation Rental

Website

airbnb.com

Headquarters address

888 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 9410

Stock Code

NASDAQ:ABNB

Year founded

2008

last updated:

27 August, 2024

Mountaineers climb a slope during their ascent of Mount Everest in Nepal in 2021. A story about overcrowding on peaks like this one was one of the top five travel stories of the year. Photo: AFP

Year in Review

Travel stories you read most in 2024, about a horror gang rape and more

We look back at some of the top stories in travel for 2024, from a shocking gang rape in India to the revamp of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.

30 Dec 2024 - 4:18PM

Tourism

Paris joins anti-Airbnb bandwagon with holiday flats crackdown

29 Nov 2024 - 2:15PM

Tourism

Croatia the latest tourist-trap nation to mull short-term rental controls

23 Nov 2024 - 1:15PM

Trending in China

China woman pays US$8,300 for hotel room by confusing yuan and Korean won symbols

If rate had been in Korean won, it would have cost only US$37 for one night.

20 Nov 2024 - 9:00AM

Xiao was shocked to see 60,904 yuan deducted from her account after booking a serviced apartment on Jeju Island in South Korea. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/163.com

Tourism

Gladiators back at Colosseum after 2,000 years, thanks to Airbnb

As Gladiator II hits cinemas, Airbnb and guardians of the Roman ruin team up to offer faux fights there under a deal decried as ‘a disgrace’.

18 Nov 2024 - 4:50PM

Fame and celebrity

Home of early Beatles gigs opens as an Airbnb rental in Liverpool

Some of The Beatles’ earliest gigs were held in the basement of a house in Liverpool, and Pete Best, the original Beatles drummer who Ringo Starr replaced, has opened it up as an Airbnb.

23 Aug 2024 - 2:18AM

Fame and celebrity

Who is Brian Chesky, the Airbnb CEO and co-founder worth US$8.6 billion?

Brian Chesky defined himself as an artist, and now he’s one of the world’s most influential CEOs – here’s what you need to know about the 42-year-old New Yorker

6 Aug 2024 - 5:00AM

Who is Brian Chesky, the Airbnb founder worth US$8.6 billion? Photo: @cleverpodcast/Instagram

Tourism

Does Barcelona’s holiday-lets ban offer blueprint for other destinations?

Faced with rising rents and a housing shortage, Barcelona says it will end apartment rentals to tourists by 2028. It comes as destinations such as New York and Venice take measures against overtourism.

31 Jul 2024 - 4:15PM

Tourism

Backlash from a US city’s Airbnb ban hits property sales and house prices

When Palm Springs in California, a city dependent on tourism, capped the number of private rental properties, house prices fell and property sales slowed.

6 Feb 2024 - 5:14AM

Asia travel

Penang’s Airbnb ban, 7 wonders in 7 days: 2023’s most read travel stories

From Penang’s Airbnb ban to two Swiss towns with macabre art by Alien movie designer H R Giger to a dash to see seven wonders of the world in a week, the travel stories most read by Post readers in 2023.

28 Dec 2023 - 4:17PM

Jamie McDonald’s world-record-breaking journey to all Seven “New Wonders of the World” in seven days piqued Post readers’ interest in 2023. See what other travel stories were among our most read this year. Photo: Travelport

Tourism

Loved Wonka? Stay in the sweet shop author Roald Dahl adored – it’s an Airbnb

Owned by a Hongkonger, the sweet shop that Willy Wonka creator Roald Dahl fell in love with as a child in Wales – and likely inspired Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – can be rented on Airbnb.

23 Dec 2023 - 5:15PM

Timothee Chalamet’s in Wonka. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Tourism

‘A better experience than an Airbnb’: how hostels are going upmarket

Hostels are becoming the latest travel trend, with some offering hotel-style experiences – think private rooms and rooftop pools – at much lower prices than both hotels and Airbnbs.

1 Dec 2023 - 4:15PM

Japan

As millions of empty homes rot in Japan, Airbnb aims to fill them with tourists

Airbnb plans to partner with businesses and local governments to encourage homeowners to invest in renovations.

30 Nov 2023 - 9:32AMvideocam

Luxury travel

7 unique luxury Airbnbs to book for your next holiday, from Bali to Italy

Travellers seeking an experience beyond a hotel room are turning to Airbnb properties that offer a stay out of the ordinary, from Bali and Koh Samui to Costa Rica, Italy and California

14 Nov 2023 - 10:00AM

The Invisible House in Joshua Tree, California, is completely cloaked in mirrors to reflect its surroundings. Photos: Handout

Italy

Italy police seize US$835 million from Airbnb in tax investigation

Prosecutors in Milan accuse the accommodation website of having failed to collect a rental income tax from landlords in the period from 2017 to 2021.

7 Nov 2023 - 6:43AM

Asia travel

Airbnb hosts know there’s no place like home – it’s why they open theirs up

Asian Airbnb hosts reveal the highs and lows of welcoming strangers into their homes and the tricks of the trade that ensure the guest list remains full.

14 Oct 2023 - 11:15AM

Trending in China

China-Malaysia spy-cam couple warn fellow travellers after honeymoon ordeal

A honeymooning couple from China have told how an Airbnb host in Malaysia initially accused them of online “smears” over a hidden spy camera in their bedroom before eventually refunding them.

9 Oct 2023 - 11:47AM

Malaysia

Police investigate after spycam found in Chinese couple’s Malaysia Airbnb room

The device was installed inside a wall power socket in a room of a lodging establishment in Sabah.

24 Sep 2023 - 3:55PM

A Chinese couple visiting Malaysia said they found a hidden spycam in their Airbnb room. Photo: Shutterstock

Tourism

Do new rules signal the beginning of the end of Airbnb in New York?

Short-term rental regulations that have gone into effect in New York City are a blow for many Airbnb hosts – ‘this is a huge indication that our elected officials have let us down,’ says one.

6 Sep 2023 - 7:45PM

Fame and celebrity

Peek into Gwyneth Paltrow’s airy Montecito home, on Airbnb for US$0

Gwyneth Paltrow aims to combat ‘loneliness’ and ‘isolation’ after the pandemic by giving away a one-night stay at her Montecito guest house – here’s how to sign up

8 Aug 2023 - 5:00AM

International Property

Inside Barbie’s real-life, pink Malibu Dreamhouse – up for rent on Airbnb

Be a Barbie girl in a Barbie world, in real life? This July, Airbnb is offering the chance to stay at this hot-pink luxury estate inspired by the Mattel doll – here’s a look inside

3 Jul 2023 - 11:00AM

Barbie’s iconic Malibu Dreamhouse, which is making a return in real life with a three-storey lookalike mansion that mirrors the set of Warner Bros’ upcoming Barbie movie made available for booking again via vacation rental firm Airbnb. Photo: Handout

Malaysia

Malaysian island imposes partial ban on Airbnb to tame rowdy tourists

Penang has been mulling a ban on Airbnb for over a year, following complaints of bad tourist behaviour in residential areas.

12 Jun 2023 - 4:13PM

Penang is thought to be the first place in Southeast Asia to seek restrictions on certain short-term rentals. Photo: Shutterstock

Asia travel

‘Weirdos wandering the corridors’: Penang bans Airbnb and other short lets

Malaysian island Penang is the country’s first place to ban Airbnb and similar short-term lets, after receiving numerous complaints about unruly tourists disturbing local residents.

6 Jun 2023 - 2:12PM

Trending in China

‘Used 120 tonnes of water’: Chinese couple leave taps running at Airbnb in revenge

Chinese tourists angered by an Airbnb host’s refusal to cancel a booking left the taps, lights and gas on for 25 days in revenge, running up bills worth more than US$1,570.

28 Apr 2023 - 6:49PM

117

Luxury travel

10 best wish-listed properties on Airbnb in 2023, from France to Brazil

Airbnb just unveiled its users’ most wish-listed properties in 2023, from Australia to Brazil – so which ones are you adding to your travel bucket list?

11 Feb 2023 - 8:00AM

Airbnb has unveiled its most wish-listed properties. Photo: Airbnb

Royalty

Meet Queen Elizabeth’s Russian cousin, ‘potty mouth’ Princess Olga Romanoff

Known for her biting wit and rebellion against royal norms, Princess Olga Romanoff, a descendant of Tsar Nicholas II, is a reality TV star, is on dating apps and shops at Sainsbury’s

8 Nov 2022 - 5:00AM

Princess Olga Romanoff is cousins with the late Queen Elizabeth. Photo: @princessolgaromanoff/Instagram

Regulation

China’s one-time tech copycats outsmart the originals. Here’s how

An increasing number of Western internet firms are calling it quits in the world’s second largest economy, but analysts say local competition may be more to blame than the pandemic and increased regulations.

11 Jun 2022 - 3:28PMvideocam

Apps

Nike sports app the latest to pull out of China after Airbnb, Kindle

Sports giant Nike will close two apps in China next month, citing ‘business reasons’, in the latest example of a Western firm retreating from the mainland Chinese market amid a tighter regulatory environment.

8 Jun 2022 - 7:36PM

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