Airbnb

The Airbnb service is based on the idea of ​ ​ uniting people who want to rent out their homes and those who want to rent it while traveling. In addition to apartments, the service can be used to rent, for example, a yacht, castle or island. At the moment, Airbnb allows you to search and book accommodation in more than 16 thousand cities in 186 countries of the world, including Russia. Headquartered in the United States, there is an office in Germany (data for April 2017).

Performance indicators

2020:30% decrease in revenue, to $3.4 billion, loss - $4.6 billion

At the end of 2020, Airbnb raised $3.4 billion, which is 30% less than a year earlier, when the figure was measured at $4.8 billion. Characterizing the fall in turnover, the company called the pace of decline small, given the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, due to which tourist trips around the world have seriously decreased.

Airbnb's net loss in 2020 was $4.6 billion against a $674 million loss a year earlier. Such large cash losses are associated not only with the consequences of the pandemic, but also with significant costs related to the IPO - they amounted to $2.8 billion (largely due to the fact that after entering the stock exchange, the company should recalculate all payments to employees of share remuneration and include the total indicator in the report). Airbnb's 2020 results were the first since the company went public in December.

Airbnb losses in 2020 were $1.2 billion more than revenue

Airbnb noted that in 2020, the company, faced with a significant drop in demand for reservations, tried to develop local tourism, offering people excursions, guest houses, etc., in their own city or region. The company expects that as the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine is introduced and restrictions are lifted, travel will increase.

Our results in 2020 showed Airbnb's sustainability and adaptability. Travel is returning, and now we have focused on preparing for recovery, "said Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, whose words are quoted in a press release.

The reporting also said that the company in 2020 managed to reduce all items of operating expenses (with the exception of remuneration paid to employees on shares). The streamlining came after Airbnb cut its workforce by a quarter, suspended non-core operations and slashed its hefty marketing budget.^[1]

History

2023: Italian police seize €779m from Airbnb over tax evasion

On November 6, 2023, the Milan prosecutor's office announced that the Financial Guard Italy , in accordance with a court order, had arrested €779.5 million from the European headquarters of Airbnb in. Ireland The popular short-term rental rental platform is suspected of tax evasion.

According to the statement of Italian law enforcement agencies, Airbnb did not pay 21% of the established tax on the amount of approximately €3.7 billion, which was obtained through the provision of rental services. The corresponding tax norms are spelled out in the law of 2017. The decision to seize the funds comes as Prime Minister Georgie Meloni's government tries to tackle tax evasion in the country. It is said that in the framework of the case against Airbnb, three people are under investigation, who from 2017 to 2021 held various senior positions in the company. These persons are suspected of allegedly not providing the necessary tax returns from January 30, 2019 to January 30, 2023.

Italian Financial Guard arrests €779.5 million from Airbnb

We are surprised and disappointed by the order issued by the Italian prosecutor. Airbnb's Ireland unit has been in active talks with the Italian tax agency since June 2023 to resolve the issue. We are confident that we acted in full accordance with the law, - said representatives of the company.

Airbnb argued in a European Union court that the short-term rental tax, introduced in 2017, is illegal because it does not comply with established rules. However, in December 2022, the company lost this case. Airbnb said that in connection with the seizure of funds, the company intends to take the actions provided for by law: in particular, it can appeal.^[2]

2022

Anomalous 31% increase in the rental of one-room rooms against the background of an increase in the cost of living during the crisis in Ukraine

Airbnb service in November 2022 said that it recorded an abnormal 31% increase in the turnover of one-room rooms in the third quarter of this year.

The number of people looking for an additional source of income in the face of crisis and rising living costs is increasing every day.

6,132 employees

Data as of 2022

Airbnb will pay millions for refusing to localize data of Russians

On June 28, 2022, the World Court of the Tagansky District of Moscow fined Airbnb 2 million rubles for refusing the service to store the data of Russians on servers located in Russia. The company was found guilty under Part 8 of Art. 13.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (failure by the operator when collecting personal data to ensure the recording, systematization, accumulation, storage of personal data of citizens of the Russian Federation using databases located on the territory of the Russian Federation). According to TASS, the consideration of the case took place in the absence of Airbnb representatives.

At the end of May 2022 Roskomnadzor , he drew up protocols for a number of foreign companies (among them Airbnb), which do not comply with the requirements of Russian law and do not localize the databases of Russian users in Russia. The agency previously demanded that a number of foreign companies provide documents confirming that the storage and processing of personal data of Russian users is carried out in the country. Internet companies Airbnb,, Pinterest Likeme,,,, Twitch Apple UPC Google did not provide such data in a timely manner.

Airbnb paid millions for refusing to localize data of Russians

By June 2022, Russia has a law on personal data, which obliges to store data of Russians in Russia. By law, a service that refuses to transfer personal data to Russia can be blocked, as happened with the business social network LinkedIn.

Until March 2022, Airbnb has been operating in Russia since 2012. For this, a separate legal entity was created - Airbienby Rush. Subsequently, this legal entity was liquidated, but activities in Russia continued. The company's operations in Russia were transferred to its offices in Berlin, Dublin and London. According to the National Union of the Hospitality Industry, which were released in early 2022, approximately 15 million Russians a year used Airbnb services.^[3]

Withdrawal from the Chinese market due to fierce competition with local companies

American home booking service Airbnb Inc. intends to leave the PRC market, but will retain access to booking foreign real estate for Chinese customers, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing informed sources.

According to sources, the Chinese market accounts for only about 1% of Airbnb's revenue. The number of real estate objects presented by the service in China at the end of April was about 500 thousand with more than 6 million objects around the world, according to data from the analytical company AirDNA.

In China, Airbnb had to compete with companies such as Meituan, whose apps combine a wide range of services - from ordering groceries, taxis and massages to booking tours. For such services, attracting new customers is easier and cheaper than for Airbnb, the WSJ notes.

Ban on the use of the service in other countries for Russians and Belarusians and the appropriation of their money

On April 4, 2022, the company imposed a ban on the use of the service around the world for Russians and Belarusians.

The company appropriated customer funds by canceling all already paid reservations in Russia and returning instead of money "bonuses" that cannot be spent. The father of one of the founders of the service comes from Poland.

Termination of work in Russia and Belarus

Airbnb has ceased operations in Russia and Belarus, which the company's CEO Brian Chesky announced on his Twitter account in early March 2022. In this message, he did not specify the reason for the decision.

Earlier, Chesky reported that new sanctions USA against Russian financial institutions affected the ability of the site to carry out operations in the country. Chesky admitted that most of the business would have to be suspended due to the inability to pay, reports. Bloomberg

Airbnb stopped working in Russia

In early March 2022, the head of Airbnb also said that in cooperation with the service's partners - homeowners - it is planned to accommodate up to 100 thousand Ukrainian refugees for free. He also appealed to residents of Poland, Germany, Hungary and Romania with a request to help people leaving Ukraine.

According to CNBC, some people book accommodation on Airbnb in the most affected areas of Ukraine to financially help their owners.^[4]

The executive director of the National Union of the Hospitality Industry (OSIG) Aleksei Volkov, in a conversation with RIA Novosti, said on March 4, 2022 that about 1.5 million people rented housing in Russia annually through Airbnb.

If we say that there are 60 million tourists in Russia, then in terms of capacity, it is small. But the platform is convenient for business travelers and those who do not want to overpay, because hotels in resort areas have risen significantly, and this was a convenient tool for solving this issue, he said.

According to Volkov, the suspension of Airbnb will not affect small cities, because the key territories for the service were large cities. For them, there is no analogue of Airbnb yet. However, there are several aggregators in Russia that may take over Airbnb's functions in the future, he added.^[5]

2021

Annual payments to settle incidents when renting apartments

In mid-June 2021, it became known that Airbnb, a service for finding rental housing around the world, has a secret team that resolves the problems (including financially) that arise when renting housing guests. The company annually allocates about $50 million for payments to owners and guests in the event of tragic incidents, including rape and murder.

The team, known as the "black box" inside the company, consists of around 100 agents who are in major cities including Dublin, Montreal and Singapore. Some of these staff have experience in the armed forces or emergency services.

According to Bloomberg, team members have the right to spend any amount to fix the most serious problems in rental housing, including sexual assault, murder and death. The team provides financial support to guests and hosts, and works to ensure incidents go unnoticed by the press.

Airbnb has secret team to deal with tourist rental incidents

Some employees said they had to hire contractors to seal bullet holes in the walls of homes or hire crews to chemically clean spaces, including from blood stains. In exceptional cases, Airbnb employees had to deal with hosts who found dismembered human remains in their homes.

Also, representatives of the secret team said that they had to provide support to guests who were attacked by the homeowners and were forced to hide in closets or run away from secluded houses from criminals.

The Airbnb team covered costs, including counseling, new housing, flights and tests for sexually transmitted diseases, as well as other medical costs for victims of violence, according to the report.

So, the case of the rape of an Australian tourist with Airbnb occurred in New York, on New Year's Eve. The 29-year-old traveler, along with friends, rented apartments on the first floor of a house in Manhattan. According to Bloomberg, a company of friends took the keys to an apartment in a nearby bodega without showing any documents. The group spent the evening at the bar, and after midnight the girl returned to the rented apartment alone. There she was attacked by 24-year-old Junior Lee.

Airbnb pays secret team $50m each year to settle conflicts

Lee pointed a kitchen knife at the girl and then raped her. It is known that after Lee was detained that night, the police found a bunch of keys to the apartment, as well as a knife and one of the girl's earrings. According to him, duplicates of the keys to him came from his friends. Lee was charged with sexual assault and trespassing, the attacker himself having pleaded not guilty, according to the report.

Immediately after the incident, which occurred in 2015, the Airbnb team contacted the local police and offered the rape victim their hotel room rental services, and also announced their readiness to pay for the girl's mother's flight to New York. By agreement of the parties, under which the company paid the girl and her representatives $7 million, the victim cannot sue Airbnb or the owner of the apartment.

Airbnb is also hiring senior political figures to deal with such incidents, the source said. Thus, the company attracted to cooperation ex-adviser to the National Security Council of President Obama Nick Shapiro, who has already left Airbnb. Recalling his work experience, he noted:

It brought me back to the feeling of facing truly terrible problems in Langley and the Situation Room in the White House.[6][7]

Launch your organization to create Open Source mobile software development tools

In early March 2021, the Linux Foundation launched the Mobile Native Foundation, designed to encourage the creation of open source tools for mobile application development. Read more here.

2020

Sequoia Capital investment impact on Airbnb share price

The Sequoia Capital fund, which stood at the origins of Apple and Google, bought 58 million Airbnb shares in April 2009 at a price of $0.01. By December 15, 2020, they cost $122. Read more here.

Going public on Nasdaq

On December 10, 2020, trading in Airbnb shares under the ticker symbol ABNB began on the Nasdaq exchange. By the time the site was opened, the housing rental service jumped by $146, and according to the results of the entire trading session, it amounted to $144.71, which is 113% more than the placement price of $68.

As part of the IPO, the company sold 51.5 million securities, which made it possible to raise $3.5 billion. This figure was the largest in 2020, so Airbnb's listing can be considered the largest in a year.

Airbnb goes public on Nasdaq

By the close of the exchange on December 10, 2020, Airbnb's market capitalization amounted to $100.7 billion, which exceeds the total value of Expedia Group (a giant of the tourism market) and Marriott (the largest hotel chain in the world), as well as the capitalization of a direct competitor - Booking Holdings (about $86 billion).

The Airbnb IPO was hosted by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Citigroup and other banks. Within 30 days, they will be able to buy an additional 5 million shares at a discount from the IPO price.

The price of an ordinary share of class "A" Airbnb on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange after the start of trading on December 10, 2020 amounted to about $150. The volume of trading in the main trading mode of the company's shares at the end of this day exceeded $10 million, the number of transactions amounted to 7.79 thousand. The number of active customer accounts on which transactions with Airbnb shares were concluded exceeded 4.17 thousand, according to the exchange.

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has hurt Airbnb's business due to a strong decline in travel around the world, but this has not prevented the service from going public. The company itself, before the IPO, also warned potential investors that its main risks could be dissatisfaction with neighbors living near rented housing, and, as a result, changes in local legislation in many countries. Short-term rental rules have already tightened some American cities.^[8]

Reduction of 25% of the state

In early May 2020, Airbnb announced a decrease in headcount of about 25%. The company will lay off about 1,900 people, its CEO Brian Chesky said in an email to employees.

We are all together going through the worst crisis of our lives, and when it began to unfold, travel around the world was at a standstill, "he said.

Airbnb to lay off 1,900 people due to coronavirus

According to Chesky, the changes caused by the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 will not be temporary, and tourist trips in the "new world" after the end of the pandemic will look different. In this regard, the demand for safer rental options available closer to home will increase, according to the company.

The head of Airbnb also announced that Airbnb is reducing investments in non-core business areas new to the company regions, as well as suspending transport initiatives. In the near future, the service will focus on traditional hotels, according to a letter from Brian Chesky, released in early May 2020.

Earlier, Airbnb management said that it was cutting salaries to employees by 50% by 6 months, and management and owners completely refused salaries.

In addition, as part of customer support, Airbnb paid a total of $250 million to homeowners who had reservations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Property owners were promised 25% of the booking amount, guests - a full refund.

The outbreak of coronavirus has hit the entire travel business and Airbnb, in particular. The company expects that at the end of 2020, its revenue will be only half of the one that was registered in 2019. By the end of 2019, Airbnb had about $276.4 million in debt, twice as much as a year earlier. According to the results of the first half of 2020, the company expects a loss of $1 billion.^[9]

Ban on renting an apartment earlier than 24 hours after previous guests

On April 27, 2020, it became known that Airbnb will introduce new rules for cleaning and disinfecting premises for users of its service - owners of real estate that they rent out. The new rules will include the need to comply with the interval of 24 hours between the eviction of current and the settlement of new guests.

Such an interval is necessary so that particles that could remain in the air as a result of sneezing and coughing by previous guests settle, and viruses die.

Airbnb from May introduces new rules for cleaning and disinfecting premises for users of its service - owners of real estate that they rent out

Together with training materials, Airbnb will launch a program to certify dwellings for compliance with the new rules.

In the event landlords are unable to comply with the document's requirements, they will only be able to continue receiving guests through Airbnb provided the gap between the two customers is extended to 72 hours. The service catalog will indicate whether this or that home meets the requirements of the new document.

In addition, the 40-page document will provide detailed guidance on how to properly clean and what cleaning products to use. The rules will be formulated for each type of room - living room, bedroom, bathroom, bathroom, etc.

The rules will also oblige landlords and their service personnel to use personal protective equipment such as medical masks and gloves.

This initiative is designed to protect all of our stakeholders, "Airbnb said.

According to the company, the new rules were developed under the leadership of the former chief sanitary doctor of the United States Vivek Murthy. All work on the new document was carried out in accordance with open standards of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Airbnb's technology partner was Ecolab.^[10]

Coronavirus hits Airbnb: funds receive part of shares in exchange for investments

Home rental service Airbnb announced on April 6, 2020 that it had raised $1 billion in investments from private equity funds Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners, despite a drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. In exchange, investors will receive debt obligations and shares of the company.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is unclear whether it will affect the company's intentions to go public at the IPO in 2020, which was announced in September 2019.

Airbnb called the investment "strategic," making it clear that this is not a "lifeline" in the current environment.

"Obviously, difficult times have come in the hotel industry. However, the desire to travel and get unique impressions is fundamental and indestructible, "said Egon Durban, co-executive director of Silver Lake. "With a diversified and sustainable model, Airbnb's global business will be ready for further prosperity, as long as the world recovers from the crisis and we all get back to its services, which will happen sooner or later."

The service plans to spend the funds received on the development of a community of household owners who rent out their property. In particular, the company announced its intention to increase the number of owners - users of the service. In addition, Airbnb plans to focus on applications with long-term rentals, for example, coming from students and seconded employees.

Of the funds received, Airbnb also plans to contribute $5 million to its Superhost Relief Fund, which already has $10 million. The company uses Superhost Relief Fund funds to help landlords, service users who are not owners of the provided housing, but they themselves rent it or pay a mortgage for it. In addition, money from the fund goes to help the organizers of the impressions - this is an additional service provided by the company (in addition to rental housing) ^[11].

Reduced bookings due to coronavirus

How much has decreased the number of bookings on Airbnb in different cities amid the outbreak of the coronavirus COVID-19.

Number of bookings made for January-February 2020

2019

40-fold loss growth

Airbnb's revenue in 2019 was $4.81 billion against $3.65 billion and $2.56 billion a year and two years earlier, respectively. Net losses of the home rental service at the end of 2019 reached $674.3 million, which is almost 40 times more than cash losses a year ago ($16.9 million). In 2017, losses were measured at just over $70 million.

Airbnb notes that the company has suffered net losses every year since its inception, and there is a risk that it will never be able to become profitable. The problem lies in the large costs the service has to bear to launch new and expand existing functions, to market, expand the platform, recruit new employees and increase the tenant and landlord community.

In 2019, the volume of apartments and houses booked through Airbnb amounted to $37.96 billion against $29.44 billion in 2018. The number of armor during this time increased from 250.3 to 326.9 million, that is, there was a 31 percent increase. These rates are steadily decreasing: in 2015, the number of armor rose by 72.5%, and in 2018 - already by 35%. A similar decline is observed in the monetary volume of booking.

Previously, Airbnb, being a non-public company, preferred not to disclose its financial performance. She made them public in documents sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the occasion of the upcoming IPO.

Airbnb announced that it plans to list shares on the stock exchange Nasdaq for $1 billion - this amount is traditionally indicated by companies preparing for the listing, but usually changes later when the volume of demand for shares becomes clear. Agency sources Bloomberg familiar with Airbnb's plans say the company plans to raise about $3 billion as part of its IPO in December 2020.^[12]

$55 million investment in Zeus Living

In early December, it became known that Airbnb took part in round B of investments in Zeus Living, a company specializing in long-term rental housing for corporate workers. In the round, Zeus Living raised $55 million in investments. At the same time, the company has 2,000 facilities under management, and the revenue reached $100 million. Read more here.

Ban on daily rental of apartments in Russia

In November 2019, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree banning the provision of hotel services in residential premises of apartment buildings. The document, published on the official Internet portal of legal information, should actually entail the liquidation of the institute of daily rental housing, outlawing services like Airbnb. Read more here.

Ban from renting out party house after killing 5 at Halloween celebration

In early November 2019, Airbnb banned renting out party houses after killing 5 people at a Halloween celebration.

This was announced on his Twitter blog by the company's executive director Brian Chesky.

From today, we prohibit renting out party houses and double down on our efforts to combat unresolved gatherings and host and guest behaviour that lead to scary events like those in Orinda, "he wrote.[13]

Airbnb has also introduced a number of measures aimed at improving security, including expanding manual verification of high-risk bookings.

The shooting at a Halloween party in the California city of Orinda took place on the evening of October 31. Four people died at the scene, a fifth victim died the next day in hospital. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said that the party was advertised on social networks and more than 100 people gathered for it, and the house for holding was rented on the Airbnb short-term rental website. Shortly before the murder, the owner of the house called the police because of complaints from neighbors.

500 million guest stays via Airbnb

By April 2019, the total number of users booking apartments and homes through Airbnb reached more than 500 million. This is less than that of Booking.com (748 million).

The owner of the house with Airbnb filmed guests and broadcast the Internet live. The service did not see any violations

In early April 2019, Sky News released a story about a New Zealand family who discovered that the owner of a house with Airbnb not only secretly filmed them on camera, but also broadcast the recording live.

Airbnb's policy on such records is very clear: hosts are allowed to have cameras on their property, but devices should not be in bathrooms and sleeping rooms. Moreover, the presence of any camera must be agreed with the guests before registration.

However, judging by the latest data, the company is worried not so much about customer safety as about bad press reviews. The victims filed a complaint with Airbnb, but weeks later the company said it had found no illegal acts by the host and was not going to delete its data from the site. Moreover, for the first time Airbnb violates human rights so rudely - four other affected guests also noted that the company is inconsistent with its own rules when investigating claims. Airbnb provided the victims with incorrect information and made recommendations that could harm guests.

In September 2018, tourists from Scotland found hidden cameras in an apartment they rented while on holiday in Toronto using the Airbnb app. Travellers find camera in electronic watch that lay on table

By April 2019, the platform uses 2.9 million hosts, many of whom live on rental income, according to Airbnb data. Of course, people using hidden cameras do not want to lose this money and can take decisive action to avoid punishment. Such reasoning stopped many guests from complaining, who became unintended witnesses to the prohibited shooting. So, one of the guests ran away from home with Airbnb, frightened that he could suffer at the hands of an angry owner.

The New Zealand family was more fortunate - they were offered a refund, and the owner's details were deleted from the platform, but only after the injured guests spoke on social media about the unpleasant incident.^[14]

Purchase of a service for renting premises for conferences and team building Gaest

In January 2019, Airbnb announced the acquisition of conference and team building rental service Gaest, which will allow the buyer to expand the range of services offered to companies and professional users. Read more here.

2018

Airbnb ordered to hand over user data and housing to authorities

In early December 2018, the Chinese government decided that platforms for housing, search and short-term rentals of private housing, including Airbnb, should be covered by oversight by state security agencies and transfer user and housing data to the authorities. The first laws governing online rental of private homes will come into force in early 2019 and will equalize private housing tenants with hotel industry owners who have been subject to similar rules for several decades.

The coastal province of Zhejiang was primarily affected, which required all online platforms to submit the necessary information to local public safety agencies from January 1. In accordance with this policy, services for short-term rental of private housing must register the rented living space and provide names, contact details and identification information of both apartment owners and guests. In addition, the authorities are interested in the time of arrival and departure of guests.

Airbnb will have to transfer user data and housing to the Chinese authorities from January 1, 2019

The new policy was a response to growing concerns about public safety in short-term rentals by strangers. Airbnb officials said they welcomed the rules and were going to cooperate with local authorities in China. Airbnb began discussing the intricacies of China's new legislation at the end of March 2018, as it does not want to go against the country's authorities. At the same time, Airbnb China created an electronic newsletter to Chinese tenants of private housing, announcing the upcoming changes.

According to the latest report from the State Information Center of China, in 2017, about 78 million people, both owners and guests, were involved in the short-term rental market for private housing in China, which attracted more than $2.1 billion to the country. It is expected that by 2020 the volume of transactions in this sector will reach $7 billion.^[15]

Two Airbnb users fined $2.25 million for illegal rental of housing

On November 5, 2018, a San Francisco court fined two residents for illegally renting out housing on Airbnb $2.25 million. According to the prosecution, Darren and Valerie Lee operated a hotel chain on Airbnb and illegally rented them at inflated prices during the San Francisco housing crisis.

San Francisco residents first sued homeowners in April 2014 after they evicted legal tenants and began renting property to tourists or employees of large companies. In May 2015, the court fined the spouses $276 thousand and banned short-term renting of housing, but they continued to violate the law. Over two years of investigation, it emerged that Lees had breached the injunction more than 5,000 times in his first year in office. At the same time, according to the prosecutor, Lee received more than $900 thousand for short-term rent, including net profit of $700 thousand.

Darren and Valerie Lee

In 2015, San Francisco authorities passed a law that required Airbnb and similar services to require landlords to register and allow them to rent their homes. Airbnb opposed the project and sued. In 2017, the city and service agreed to simplify the registration and verification system for landlords. As part of city law, the San Francisco government requires renting out properties for less than 30 days to be processed in a city office, with homeowners required to be registered with the city. Airbnb must provide the city with a monthly list of all housing units that are leased on the San Francisco property.

The court banned Darren and Valerie Lee from short-term renting out their living space until May 2025 and ordered them to pay the city $2.25 million to cover the costs of the investigation and other sanctions. An Airbnb spokesman supported the court's decision and approved the initiative of the city's residents.^[16]

Distribution of company shares to service users

In September 2018, Airbnb said it would distribute the company's shares to property owners advertising on the service.

Airbnb believes that 21st century companies can be even more successful when the interests of all parties involved in the business coincide. In Airbnb-like companies that practice sharing economics, stakeholders include not only employees and investors, but also home owners who use our platform, Airbnb said in a statement sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Airbnb is asking the regulator to change Rule 701 (Rule 701 - Emoluments) of the U.S. Securities Act. It allows only employees or investors to own company shares. The rental housing service calls for the inclusion of people involved in the company's business in this list.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky noted that the community model that the service is developing differs from companies with a traditional hierarchical structure. Airbnb wants to expand the pool of people who would get more economic opportunities, he noted.

At the same time, Chesky does not specify in which cases homeowners can count on receiving shares in the company.

Airbnb, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019. Considering that the company by September 2018 is estimated at about $31 billion, the distribution of its shares can make landlords using the service co-owners of a very large business.

Airbnb is not the first economy-forming company to express a desire to encourage its users with shares. In 2017, the management of the taxi ordering service Uber announced plans to make taxi drivers using the service platform their shareholders.^[17]

Airbnb offered an overnight stay on the Great Wall of China

In August 2018, home rental service Airbnb launched a competition, the winner of which was supposed to get the opportunity to spend the night on the Great Wall of China. However, the action was not agreed with the authorities, which led to its cancellation.

To participate in the competition, users were asked to write a 500-word essay on how they crossed cultural boundaries. The results of the competition were planned to be summed up on August 11, 2018. With this initiative, Airbnb wanted to show how anyone can become part of world history and make efforts to preserve this heritage.

Rental service Airbnb launched a competition, the winner of which was supposed to get the opportunity to spend the night on the Great Wall of China, but the action was not agreed with the authorities, which led to its cancellation

The prize for winning the competition was supposed to be a trip to the Great Wall of China with a walk, dinner, entertainment and an overnight stay there. The state agency for the protection of historical heritage PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA did not give consent and noted that such actions do not correspond to "the values ​ ​ of preserving the heritage of the Great Wall."

Airbnb claims that an agreement with the Chinese authorities was reached a month before the announcement of the competition. At the same time, the service decided to end the competition and apologized to users.

If you have already entered the competition, we apologize for disappointing you. We promise in the future to provide other opportunities through which you can explore and discover the amazing world of China, "Airbnb said.

Airbnb has repeatedly offered overnight accommodation in an unusual place. In 2017, the service launched a competition, the victory in which allowed you to spend the night in a LEGO bedroom in Denmark.

Providing a unique and unforgettable experience while preserving historic sites has long been one of our top priorities. In recent years, we have held similar events at unique or historical sites around the world in collaboration with more than 70 attractions, the company noted.[18]

Removal of 80% of home rental ads in Japan due to new law

In June 2018, Airbnb removed 80% of home rental listings in Japan due to a new law. In addition, the service is forced to cancel about 30 thousand bookings.

On June 15, 2018, a law comes into force in Japan requiring tenants to obtain the same license as hotels. However, private landlords did not do this, which is why they were outlawed.

Airbnb removed thousands of listings for renting housing in Japan from the site

In the spring of 2018, there were 62 thousand real estate objects in the Japanese segment of Airbnb, and in June their number decreased to 13.8 thousand.

The service warned that users will not be able to post listings without the official permission they must show Airbnb. After receiving the necessary documents and registering their apartments and houses with local authorities, their announcements will reappear on the website. 

On the blog of the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), a message appeared stating the regulator's demand to cancel all room reservations in the absence of licenses from homeowners - "no matter what difficulties await the owners of those who rent their homes, or guests traveling in Japan."

According to AsiaOne, the new law imposes other restrictions on Airbnb users. Thus, tenants will be able to rent out their housing no more than 180 days a year, and in the city of Kyoto, rent is allowed only in the season of a weak influx of tourists - between mid-January and March.

Landlords violating the law face a fine of up to 1 million yen (about $9 thousand). Previously, the fine for illegal rental of housing did not exceed 30 thousand yen ($272). 

To cope with the influx of travelers who have had their reservations cancelled in Japan, Airbnb is providing a full refund and will help people find alternative housing options that comply with Japan's new law.^[19]

Fine of $90 thousand for too short rental housing

On April 3, 2018, it became known that in Singapore, a court fined two Airbnb users 60 thousand Singapore dollars (about $45.8 thousand at the exchange rate at the beginning of April) each for illegal rental of housing. This is the first such case that violates the law on short-term rental of housing, released in 2017, reports Reuters news agency.

The two men pleaded guilty to four charges for renting out four condominium flats (shared home ownership) for less than six months without permission from the Singapore Urban Development Authority (URA). The maximum fine for such violations is S $200 thousand.

Court fines Airbnb users $90K for renting too short

The minimum rental period for private apartments is three months, and for public housing, where about 80% of Singapore residents live, it is six months.

On April 3, 2018, Judge Kenneth Choo ruled on a fine of S $15. based on each of the four apartments that the accused rented out. According to the minister of Themis, this verdict will help prevent other cases of illegal business in the real estate market.

Wong Soo Chih, a lawyer for the two apartment owners, said they paid fines on the spot. She called the fines "fair and reasonable" but questioned their timeliness in view of upcoming consultations with the URA.

The issue of short-term accommodation in private apartments is complex and multifaceted and requires a comprehensive approach, the URA said in a letter published on the forum of the Times Straits online newspaper. The URA plans to hold a public consultation on the proposed regulatory framework for short-term leases soon.

It will take some time for consultations to take place and, if necessary, for legislative changes to come into force for the new rules, "the URA said in a letter.

The population density and limited amount of land translate into the fact that most of the 5.6 million people in Singapore live in apartments.^[20]

2017: Account theft and house robbery

In April 2017, the popular online short-term rental rental service Airbnb tightened information security measures on its website and mobile application after several cases of robbery that occurred with users of the Internet resource.

The BBC, as part of a journalistic investigation, found that several people who published ads on the Airbnb website and rented their accommodation for a short absence were robbed. To rub into trust, scammers took advantage of stolen high-rated Airbnb accounts.

Launching the Airbnb mobile app on a smartphone Samsung

As one of the victims told the BBC, renting out housing, he thought that he was letting a verified Airbnb user from London into his house, whose account had ID data and positive reviews after previous bookings.

However, it turned out that the fraudster simply stole the account. The hacker changed the name, photo and contact information in the user's profile, but at the same time the account retained the status of verified.

The BBC has learned of several more similar cases. Journalists talked with five affected Airbnb users from the United States and Europe: two were robbed in the same way, and three more had their profile stolen. In addition, there are dozens of messages on the Airbnb page on the Facebook social network about the compromise of accounts.

The BBC shared with Airbnb the results of its investigation and proposed introducing additional security measures, such as two-stage authorization, in which not only a password, but also a code sent to a smartphone must be entered to access the account.^[21]

Airbnb said that such incidents are unacceptable, and although they rarely occur, the company does not intend to put up with this. Airbnb has announced the introduction of additional tools to protect users from scammers. Among them - two-stage authorization in the event of a device change and sending notifications about changes in profile information.

2011

Russian DST Global invests $40 million in the company in the second round

In July 2011, it became known that Airbnb raised $112 million in the second round of investments. The investor pool, headed by the Andreessen Horowitz fund, also includes the Russian DST Global and the General Catalyst fund.

"With a strong management team and an engaged global community, Airbnb is on track to significantly impact the rental housing market," commented DST Global co-owner Yuri Milner.

According to TechCrunch, the investment by DST Global amounted to $40 million, Andreessen Horowitz invested $60 million and General Catalyst added $5 million, and the balance of the amount was from previous investors and one new one - Jeff Buzo (Jeff Buzzos). According to the publication, the capitalization of Airbnb at the time of the transaction is about $1.3 billion.

According to one of the founders and technical director of the project, Joe Gebbia, the attracted investments are planned to be used to accelerate the hiring of staff and the opening of offices in different countries of the world to ensure the support of the growing community of users of the service at a more local level.

DST Global's intentions to invest in this service became known at the end of May 2011. At the same time, it was reported that Andreessen Horowitz would be one of the investors. How much the investments of each of them will amount to was not known, but the total investment of $100 million was announced in the second round.

At the end of May 2011, the total number of days for which service users rented housing was 1.6 million. In July 2011, according to Airbnb, this figure is 2 million days. The service application was downloaded 300 thousand times.

According to Airbnb's own information, as of July 2011, more than 60 thousand people rent apartments using the service. Posting the listing on the site is free, however, upon receipt of a confirmed reservation, the landlord pays 3% of the rental price. All cash transactions between the landlord and the Airbnb guest take over.

First round of investments $7.8 million with a company valuation of $1 billion

In the first round of investments, Airbnb raised $7.8 million. Investors include funds from Sequoia Capital, Greylock, SV Angel, Youth Ventures and actor Ashton Kutcher. At that time, the entire project was estimated at $1 billion.

Competitors

By the summer of 2011, competitors of the service began to multiply on the network, operating according to a similar scheme. In June 2011, Airbnb even warned the community that some of the "clones" claim to be "international versions" of Airbnb or are part of eBay or Groupon. The main copies of the service in Airbnb called the resources of Wimdu.com and Airizu.com. The first of them received an investment of $90 million from the European investment funds Kinnevik and Rocket Internet.

Notes