Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, design graduates from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), turn their San Francisco apartment into a makeshift bed and breakfast with an air mattress in their living room, called “Air Bed and Breakfast.” The website domain AirBedandBreakfast.com launches.
The name shortens to Airbnb and Airbnb.com. Through seed funding, Airbnb receives over $7M in subsidy and international expansion starts in 2010. Between 2011 and 2012, they reached their 1 million and 10 million booking marks respectively.
The Airbnb Law was passed in San Francisco legalizing and regulating short-term rentals. They introduce a new logo, the Belo. In 2016, Airbnb launches Experiences.
Late 2018, the Los Angeles City Council passes the Home-Sharing Ordinance to take effect in July 2019. Provisions include registration with the city, only primary residences for short rental use, platform obligations to share data with the city, etc.
Airbnb revenue declines 72% over the prior year. Changes to booking and cleaning protocols are enacted amid cancellations. In August, they announce shift toward long-term stays (28+ days) as an alternative to traditional housing. By December, Airbnb becomes a publicly traded company (ABNB) and launches Airbnb.org, a non-profit initiative to connect people to places to stay in times of crisis.
Los Angeles and other cities rebound in travel and accommodation activity. In an effort to implement a more aggressive enforcement of the Home-Sharing Ordinance, Los Angeles hires inspectors and launches a public dashboard of licensed hosts.
Airbnb introduces Airbnb Services, Airbnb Experiences, and an all-new app redesign. January 2026, our team accesses Inside Airbnb’s Los Angeles dataset and along with the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey demographic datasets, we ask:
Where is Airbnb concentrated in Los Angeles County, and how do these concentrations align with the commodification of different community profiles?
Beyond Airbnb launches. We present our analysis, conclusions, and data to the public, joining a community using data to understand the platforms’ role in urban life.
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