Airbnb is a community marketplace for you to list, discover, and book unique spaces around the world. With listings in over 18,000 cities and 186 countries, you're sure to find something inspiring. And now, with Social Connections, you're sure to find someone you know!
Location: Potrero, San Francisco Host: Cold Steel Renegade Listing:http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37781 Cleanliness: 3/5 Stars Host interaction: 11/5 Stars Neighborhood: 3.5/5 Stars House: 5/5 Stars Room: 4/5 Stars My favorite part: Getting a free air guitar lesson from the master himself. Cold Steel is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.
My least favorite part: The location wasn’t the most convenient, but the view from the living room more than made up for that!
My favorite part: Beautiful home with amazing attention to detail. The rooms are exquisitely furnished. Awesome host! My least favorite part: The bed was a little small; certainly not suitable for couples.
Brenda is a living embodiment of the culture of openness that is Airbnb. Being a lifelong traveler, she is accustomed to having one's home opened to her, and was an early advocate of Airbnb, reciprocating this activity. She has a great sense of design that comes through every detail of her home. Finally, there are some great restaurants in the neighborhood.
A little less than two weeks ago I checked into Natasha's 5,000 square foot home which serves as a home for a number of artists working in a variety of mediums. Natasha has built an incredible cozy artistic retreat in the the middle of Berkeley. The house serves as workspace for the artists who live there. I have to say it was an incredibly inspiring environment to be immersed in for a few days. Sadly, I had to check out to do some traveling for work.
I'm back in SF now and about to check into this beautiful loft. While I am inhabiting such an amazing space I plan to throw a dinner party for the Airbnb Team this weekend. Stay tuned for coverage of the party and the results of my cooking.
Learn more about my journeyhere or follow my travels on Twitter.
Cleanliness: 5/5 stars Host interaction: 5/5 stars Neighborhood: 3/5 stars House: 4/5 stars Room: 5/5 starsMy favorite part: Awesome host, grandiose bedroom, fireplace and jacuzzi. My least favorite part: Immediate neighborhood is not too exciting.Andrew is founder of 30words. The news station that was covering us was ABC 7. Stay tuned for the link to the story once its posted.Follow my journey on Twitter at twitter.com/bchesky
Location: Nob Hill, San Francisco Listing: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5523 Hosts: Alyssa & Nicholas My favorite part: Sharing my love of art with fellow artists. Also, checking out Alyssa's awesome "Kwerks" -www.kwerkshop.com My least favorite part: Walking up the huge hills (I guess they call it Nob HILL for a reason)
* This is the listing that Nicholas & Alyssa won at the Airbnb Party last month: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13285
I am either a homeless entrepreneur, or a guy with 650 homes in San Francisco. Depends on your perspective.
Last week, I moved out of our 3 bedroom apartment. The same apartment that served as the impetus for starting Airbnb back in 2007. As a co-founder of Airbnb, moving out of the very apartment where it all started is bittersweet. From those first few airbeds on the living room floor, which we rented for a design conference, to watching the company grow internationally over the last two years, I have seen the apartment slowly transform into what is now our office. Today we have 17 people working out of the same space. Since we need all the space we can get, my bedroom became the perfect short-term solution until our new office is ready.
Anyone else would have started the hunt for a new place to live. However, that's when the idea struck me. Why not just live on Airbnb? Instead of getting a new apartment, I decided that I will live the remainder of 2010 on Airbnb. I will stay 2-3 nights in homes and apartments on our website, across San Francisco. Originally I wanted to stay in every place available in SF on Airbnb. But, with 650 listings, that would take me a couple years. Still, by Christmas, I will likely break a record for living in the most homes in a single city (will be chronicling on Twitter here). The benefit is clear; the best way to make a great product is to design something for yourself. By using Airbnb everyday, I will get to know the product and the people like never before.
My room before
After
Moving out
Bedroom becomes meeting room
Not to mention, I think this may actually be a better way to live in San Francisco. If I need a lot of space for a week, I can rent a spacious apartment. If I want to have a dinner party, I can rent a chic loft to host guests. If I plan to work late, I can rent a minimal space close to the office. I do not need to lug around 10,000 pounds of furniture with me everywhere I go.
Some people are speculating that I will tire of the constant "checking in" process. They may be right. They may be wrong. Only time will tell. This very skepticism reminds me of another crazy idea back in 2007...
I think its safe to say that the first experiment worked out pretty well.
I will be chronicling my travels here on Airbnb's blog. Also, be sure to follow me on twitter here. Stay tuned for my next post in the series about my first week living on Airbnb.
To read about the history of our apartment, click here.
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