Airbnb
Online platform for rental accommodations
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| July 2024 | A CNN investigation reveals that Airbnb consistently fails to protect guests from hidden camera risks and prioritizes market expansion over guest safety. |
| July 2024 | CNN reports on Airbnb's disclaimers regarding background checks, noting that the company does not automatically disqualify hosts with serious criminal convictions. |
| May 2024 | A former Airbnb contractor filed a whistleblower complaint alleging the company weakened its policies against extremists and dissolved its team for removing them, which Airbnb denied. |
| March 2024 | Airbnb announces a ban on indoor cameras for properties listed on the site, with the policy set to take effect on April 30. |
| 2023 | Airbnb was criticized for removing the parents of far-right activist Lauren Southern from its platform, but quickly reversed the decision, claiming it was a 'mistake'. |
| 2023 | An Airbnb employee testified in a deposition that the company does not routinely notify law enforcement about hidden camera complaints. |
| November 2023 | Airbnb acquired GamePlanner.AI, an AI startup, expanding its technological capabilities |
| 2022 | Airbnb was one of the 15 leading sponsors of the 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing, despite previous calls for withdrawal by human rights groups. |
| June 2022 | Airbnb announces a permanent ban on parties and events in homes on its platform. |
| May 2022 | Airbnb ceases operations in China due to COVID-19 policies and complicated regulatory requirements. |
| April 2022 | Airbnb instituted a policy of unlimited remote working for almost all its employees. |
| April 2022 | The European Court of Justice ruled that requirements for Airbnb to transmit tourist transaction details to tax authorities were not contrary to European Union law, addressing a dispute with the Belgian government. |
| March 2022 | Airbnb suspends business in Russia and Belarus due to sanctions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. |
| March 2021 | Airbnb was asked by human rights activists to drop its sponsorship of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to concerns over human rights violations in China, specifically the persecution of Uyghurs. The company chose to ignore these requests. |
| January 2021 | Airbnb banned all bookings in the Washington metropolitan area prior to Joe Biden's inauguration after criticism for allowing participants in the January 6 Capitol attack to book units. |
| December 10 2020 | Airbnb becomes a public company via an initial public offering, raising $3.5 billion and offering shares to hosts. |
| August 2020 | Airbnb temporarily bans parties in homes rented on the platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| April 2020 | Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners acquired $1 billion in shares in the company at an $18 billion valuation and $1 billion in debt at interest rates of 9%–11.5%. |
| March 2020 | A Dutch subdistrict court ruled that Airbnb's practice of charging service fees to both hosts and guests was illegal, potentially affecting 30,000 renters who could claim reimbursement. In response, Airbnb filed countersuits to contest the ruling. |
| February 12 2020 | Airbnb was included on a United Nations Human Rights Council list of companies operating in West Bank settlements with potential human rights concerns, specifically categorized under 'the provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements'. |
| October 4 2019 | On World Animal Day, Airbnb launches a new category of animal-focused experiences and an animal welfare policy. |
| May 2019 | Airbnb agreed to turn over anonymized information for approximately 17,000 listings in New York City to help the city pursue illegal rentals, settling a legal dispute about providing guest information to local authorities. |
| April 2019 | After facing lawsuits alleging discrimination, Airbnb reversed its decision to remove West Bank listings and instead committed to donating profits from these listings to humanitarian aid non-profit organizations. |
| November 2018 | Airbnb announced plans to remove approximately 200 listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, citing disputes between Israelis and Palestinians. |
| February 2018 | The company announces Airbnb Plus, a collection of vetted homes, and Beyond by Airbnb, offering luxury vacation rentals. |
| 2017 | Acquired Luxury Retreats International, a Canadian-based villa rental company, for $300 million in cash and stock |
| 2017 | Acquired HotelTonight, a website for booking last-minute hotel rooms, for $400 million |
| August 2017 | Airbnb cancelled bookings and closed accounts of attendees of the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, citing its terms of service requiring non-discriminatory treatment of users. |
| March 2017 | Airbnb raised $1 billion in funding, bringing total funding raised to more than $3 billion and valuing the company at $31 billion. |
| November 2016 | Airbnb launches 'experiences', allowing users to book activities on the platform. |
| September 2016 | Google Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures invested $555.5 million in the company at a valuation of $30 billion. |
| June 2015 | General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital Group, Tiger Management, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GGV Capital, China Broadband Capital, and Horizons Ventures invested $1.5 billion in the company. |
| April 2015 | Airbnb expands to Cuba, becoming one of the first U.S. companies to do so after restrictions are eased. |
| 2014 | Linguist Mark Liberman publicly criticized Airbnb for the excessive length of its legal agreements, noting that the terms of service, privacy policy, and other policies totaled 55,081 words - comparable to a short novel in length but significantly less readable. |
| July 2014 | Airbnb reveals design revisions to the site and mobile app, and introduces the Bélo logo symbolizing 'belonging'. |
| April 2014 | TPG Capital invested $450 million in the company at a valuation of $10 billion, with additional funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, T. Rowe Price, and Sherpa Capital. |
| September 2013 | Airbnb announced the establishment of its European headquarters in Dublin. |
| 2012 | Airbnb opened offices in Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Moscow, and São Paulo, expanding its international presence. |
| December 2012 | Airbnb opened an office in Singapore. |
| November 2012 | Airbnb opened an office in Sydney, marking its 11th office location, and announced plans to launch services in Thailand and Indonesia. |
| October 2011 | Airbnb established its first international office in London. |
| July 2011 | Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Sky Technologies, General Catalyst, and A Grade Investments partners Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary invested $112 million in the company. |
| March 2011 | Airbnb wins the 'app' award at the South by Southwest conference. |
| November 2010 | Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital invested $7.2 million in a Series A funding round. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article Airbnb, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.