Barcelona star Andres Iniesta lists family vineyard on Airbnb November 28, 2014 Fancy sipping on a glass of red in the beautiful Spanish countryside with the scorer of the winning goal in a World Cup final? Barcelona star Andrés Iniesta is giving you the chance to do just that, by placing a one-off listing for a night at his family vineyard, "Bodega Iniesta", on Airbnb. All [...]
Airbnb given boost as IoD says sharers should not pay tax on first £10k November 24, 2014 Rental groups such as Airbnb could soon become even more attractive if the Institute of Directors (IoD) gets its way. The business group has called on the government not to tax sharers on the first £10,000 they make by monetising their assets. Currently, those renting their home get £4,250 tax-free under rules first created 18 [...]
Business minister Matthew Hancock’s fury over Airbnb crackdown by Westminster council November 20, 2014 Business minister Matthew Hancock accused Westminster council last night of “over-zealously” clamping down on holiday rental sites, after it emerged that the Tory authority has been tracking down Airbnb users in the borough and taking enforcement action against them. The discovery comes as the government prepares plans to sweep away the legislation that bans [...]
Airplane-bnb: KLM takes Airbnb’s sharing economy to a luxury jet November 13, 2014 ental app Airbnb has teamed up KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to offer tech-savvy travellers the chance to stay in what Airbnb call a “pimped out” jet. For anyone looking to take up the offer, they need not fear landings or takeoff as the plane will remain grounded at Amsterdam's biggest air traffic hub. The "pimped [...]
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky: “We want to be regulated because to regulate us would be to recognise us” November 4, 2014 Six-year-old spare room rental app Airbnb has enjoyed an almost meteoric rise – along with Uber, it has become the tip of the spear of the so-called "sharing economy". The firm reached a $10bn (£6bn) valuation in April as part of a fundraising round where it received a $450m investment led by TPG Capital. Peter [...]
After tourist gets trapped in Waterstones, Airbnb teams up to offer a night’s stay in Piccadilly store October 21, 2014 When the story of David Willis, the man who was stuck in a Waterstones store at night, emerged last week, team Airbnb smelled an opportunity. Why not offer a night’s stay in the store? Luckily Waterstones’ retail director Rik McShane agreed. “Amidst the story were a great many messages from people exclaiming how much they [...]
Airbnb shows environmental benefits of sharing economy, study finds July 31, 2014 Guests using home and room rental app Airbnb in Europe avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 200,000 cars on the roads and were 10-15 per cent more likely to use public transport than if they stayed in a hotel, according to a survey conducted by Cleantech Group. The study claims that travelling on Airbnb, which [...]
Why London should be proud of Airbnb’s new “rude” logo July 17, 2014 When Airbnb launched its rebranded logo in San Francisco last night, it knew it would get a fair bit of attention but it couldn’t have anticipated that the new logo would be trending at number one on Twitter for eight hours. But is was. And why? Well, people think it’s a bit rude. And [...]
London to give Airbnb rentals the greenlight June 9, 2014 LONDON will open its doors to home and room rental apps such as Airbnb and OneFineStay as part of the government’s move to quash outdated laws that ban short-term rentals in the capital. Communities secretary Eric Pickles will today outline reforms to often-ignored legislation dating back to the 1970s that forces Londoners wishing to rent [...]
The stranglehold that’s closing in on Airbnb April 30, 2014 Airbnb is a company thriving on the sharing economy. The online platform enables people to rent out space in or their entire home to someone else for a short-term stay. Gluing traditional house swap sentiment with a growing appetite for sharing and localism, it gives people the opportunity to make money when it’s tight, and [...]