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Airbnb launched without payments
Around 2008, finding a place to stay on the site meant settling up with the host face to face, which was a pretty big problem for a booking site. Search results gave no way to see where a house sat in the city.
Nate wrote all the code while working part-time. Airbnb was not perfect from the beginning, though stories about its early days often make it sound that way.
Why do marketplaces handle payments themselves?
A marketplace usually earns its money by taking a cut of each transaction, which it can only do when the payment passes through it. Handling payments also lets it hold the funds until a stay or purchase goes as promised, which builds trust between strangers. When buyers and sellers settle up directly, they can meet once and skip the platform afterward, a pattern often called disintermediation. Airbnb's later versions collected payment from guests and released it to hosts after check-in.
How did Airbnb's founders pay their bills early on?
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia sold collectible cereal boxes called Obama O's and Cap'n McCain's. They sold the boxes online and around the Democratic National Convention that year. The founders have said the cereal brought in about $30,000. They have said the money went toward paying off credit card debt.
How did Airbnb start with air mattresses?
In October 2007, Chesky and Gebbia were roommates in San Francisco who could not afford their rent, and a design conference had filled the city's hotels. They put air mattresses on their living room floor and offered guests a bed and breakfast. Three guests stayed, and the website built to advertise the offer was first called AirBed & Breakfast. The company later shortened its name to Airbnb.
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