Founded in August 2008 and based in San Francisco California, Airbnb is a trusted community peer-to-peer marketplace and homestay network that enables people to list or rent short-term lodging in residential properties, with the cost of such accommodation set by the property owner. Whether it is an apartment for a night, a castle for a week or a villa for a month; Airbnb connects more than 60 million people from over the world for an unique travel experience. In every price range and in more than 34,000 cities, and New York is one of them. The company is privately owned and operated. It is one of the biggest companies in the world without owning any actual real estate itself. In March 2009, the name Airbedandbreakfast.com was changed to Airbnb.com, and the site’s content had expanded from air beds and shared spaces to a variety of properties including entire homes and apartments, private rooms, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties. In February 2011, Airbnb announced its 1 millionth booking since its inception in August 2008. Then, in January 2012, Airbnb announced its 5 millionth night booked internationally through the service.

A 2011 New York State law prohibits renting residential units for less than 29 days, with certain exceptions. In April 2015, Airbnb asked the state legislature for legalization in return for the collection of transient occupancy tax. In October 2015, Jersey City, New Jersey became the first city in the New York metropolitan area to legalize Airbnb, and add it to the existing body of hotels and motels that pay transient occupancy tax. For the podcast assignment I would like to report about an Airbnb accommodation located in New York City. I want to interview the hosts of the house and their reasons they started to rent their accommodations on Airbnb. I want to know more about the way of living; there are always strange people walking around in your house. How do you manage that? Do you need to have specific characteristics in order to rent your accommodations successfully on Airbnb? How did they come up with the idea to become hosts at Airbnb? Did they travel themselves? What guests did they welcome over the years? I also like to interview one of the guests living in their apartment. What are they doing in New York? How do they find the experience of living for a period of time in an Airbnb? Have they rented before through Airbnb?

Users are categorized as “Hosts” and “Guests,” both of whom must register with Airbnb using a variety of means. A valid email address and valid telephone were initially the only requirements to build a unique user profile on the website, however as of April 2013, a scan of a government issued ID is now required. Profiles include details such as user reviews and shared social connections to build a reputation and trust among users of the marketplace. Other elements of the Airbnb profile include user recommendations and a private messaging system. In addition to providing personal information, hosts display listing details including price, amenities, house rules, imagery, and detailed information about their neighborhood. Due to the nature of the business, a merit system is in place to allow guests and hosts to leave references and ratings which are displayed to the public in order to provide an evaluation method. So, Airbnb user profiles contain recommendations, reviews, and ratings to build credible online reputations within the platform. Additionally, the site provides a private messaging system as a channel for users to message one another privately before booking and accepting reservations. Hosts are never required to accept a reservation. After the guest has checked out, the parties review one another. How do both parties, the host and the guest, think about this system of reviewing one another? What do they do if they receive bad reviews? Did they trust the Airbnb renting-system at once?