Airbnb: Changing the Travel Scape

As the economy continues to recover, the hospitality industry is changing to accommodate the needs of travelers and hosts alike.

Airbnb is a leading travel rental website which allows people to rent out their homes, apartments, spare rooms and even RVs to travelers seeking an alternative to a traditional hotel stay. Since breaking onto the scene in 2008, the website has grown to offer rentals in 33,000 cities and 192 countries.

Unlike staying in a hotel or a resort, people open their homes to travelers of whom they have likely never met, or “strangers.” The Airbnb platform covers reservations, payments, security deposits, communication between host and guest and offers both parties the opportunity to review one another. Hosts are required to upload a profile picture in order to incorporate a more human element to the network.

The Internet changed the landscape of traveling all together. With more and more people unable to afford long, luxurious vacations, many are opting to travel like a local, gaining valuable insights and recommendations from their hosts to maximize their stay. Instead of being perceived as a stranger, hosts welcome the opportunity to find something in common with their guests and enjoy being hospitable and helpful. The incentive to earn some extra income for hosts doesn’t hurt, and the budget traveler can have access to an entire home fully equipped with cooking facilities and living rooms for the cost of a traditional hotel room.

While Airbnb values and encourages interpersonal connections for users, it’s also debunking the “stranger danger” myth. With face-to-face peer interaction, no longer is travel anonymous like forking over your credit card number for a hotel to a robot. Booking through Airbnb.com becomes all at once personal and familiar — and meeting your host and sharing stories face-to-face is a gratifying travel experience all its own.