There was a time, many moons ago when the American Dream was the guiding principle of hope for the future. It was believed that if we worked hard enough, and pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, one day we would find a successful job, drive an American-made automobile and own a house.
Suffice to say that the America dream has lost a bit of its luster over the last few decades, mainly because prior generations bought all of the houses, took all of the jobs, and are still alive and well. As we’ve seen in times of duress, there are two types of people: those who stick their heads in the sand and wait for a brighter day, and those with a bit of capital and an idea who decide to make a start-up.
Back in 2007, two roommates living in San Francisco couldn’t afford their rent which, if you are unfamiliar with housing costs in the Bay Area, is sadly quite common. The two young men decides to turn their unused loft into an additional sleeping area with three inflatable beds, and they would allow visiting techies and designers to stay on these beds for a price. Months down the line, Airbnb was born.
The Company has since become a household name for travelers and businesspeople alike, who prefer the comforts of staying in a home rather than an overly priced hotel room. Having said that, millions of people still elect to stay in hotel rooms, and because of this fact, as Airbnb gears up for its eventual public offering, the Company today confirmed its intent to acquire HotelTonight, a last-minute hotel booking platform.
In an attempt to bolster its portfolio following a $31 billion valuation, Airbnb will acquire HotelTonight ahead of its initial public offering. Assuming the deal goes through, this will satisfy Airbnb’s desire to become the authoritative travel platform with home sharing, hotel booking, experiences and more. Per the details of the agreement, the HotelTonight platform will continue to operate independently from Airbnb, but HotelTonight’s CEO Sam Shank will report to Greg Geeley, Airbnb’s president of homes, according to TechCrunch.
“We started HotelTonight because we knew people wanted a better way to book an amazing hotel room on-demand, and we are excited to join forces with Airbnb to bring this service to guests around the world. Together, HotelTonight and Airbnb can give guests more choices and the world’s best boutique and independent hotels a genuine partner to connect them with those guests…”
–Sam Shank, co-Founder and CEO, HotelTonight
Airbnb is slowly but surely redefining what it means to travel. Whereas travel logistics have historically been challenging and often frustrating, Airbnb has made key investments in companies to alleviate these stressors and build a better platform. In November 2018, the Company announced their partnership with what3words, a geocoding startup with a mapping platform that divided the world into 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares on a massive
What3words was founded in 2013 with the goal of easing the stress faced by world travelers to find easily find their way to various locations around the world. In the name of science and my personal childlike bewilderment, I downloaded what3words’ IOS app and plugged in “Empire State Building” to see what the 3-word location would be for the national monument, and I found that the building is located at “///trying.vibes.ruled”
The company behind geographical gridding platform partnered with Airbnb to help travelers, specifically those looking to “home share” with Dukha reindeer herders at their constantly moving campsite in the mountains of northern Mongolia. The incredible story, posted on the what3words site, describes the life of Zorigt and his wife Otgonbayar, two reindeer herders living in the Taiga snow forest of Mongolia, and how what3words and Airbnb helped them gift world travelers with an unforgettable stay amidst the nomadic Dhuka tribe.
