Airbnb is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco founded in August 2008, operated and privately owned by Airbnb, Inc. The company is an online service that provides a platform for individuals referred to as “hosts”, generally private parties, to rent unoccupied living space and other short-term lodging to guests. As of November 2012, the company had over 250,000 listings in 30,000 cities and 192 countries. Listings include private rooms, entire apartments, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties.
Users of the site must register and create a personal online profile before using the site. All properties are associated with a host whose profile includes recommendations by other users, reviews by previous guests, as well as a response rating and private messaging system.