Memo
To: Dr. Susan Soroka
From: Kelly Carbone
Re: How Airbnb.com is becoming tremendously successful.
Date: October 9th, 2014 Introduction:
In 2008, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia invented airbnb.com by placing their guest bedroom and spare air mattress up for rent to the public in an attempt to gain extra money in order to afford their own rent. By building a trusted community marketplace for people to list, and book rooms in peoples personal homes and apartments at varying different price points, the hotel industry is starting to reap the effects of this new trend in the travel industry (Airbnb.com). The average hotel room in the US in 2012 would cost a traveler $106.15 per night. Rates have not always been this high though. In just 2002 the average hotel room was only $82.54 per night (American Hotel and Lodging Association, 2013). With the ups and downs of the economy over the past few years, and the dominance of ritzy and well established hotels around the world many simply can not afford the expensive prices and limited options of hotel rooms in the various
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While Airbnb is able to charge a lesser rate than a hotel would for a nights stay, travelers are now able to save money but gain so much more out of their traveling experience in some cases. Airbnb markets their service as a way to be able to see areas of towns and cities that do not have many hotels, or that are simply has hotels that are very prestigious and fancy, and unaffordable for many. As Laura Kusisto of the Wall Street Journal mentions, “Airbnb officials said they are also helping entice tourists away from Times Square to places such as Harlem, Long Island City, and Park Slope, where they spend money at independent coffee shops, local grocery stores, and small