When I first heard about rental startup Airbnb, I thought it sounded a bit odd &8212' and finding out its founder rents rooms from his customers only increased that impression. But now Ia4a4m hearing more and more buzz about the company, and today it announced that it has raised $7.2 million from Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners.
The company was founded as a way for people to rent out spare couches and rooms to travelers. In todaya4a4s press release, Airbnb says it&'s now used to rent out much more, including castles and sailboats. The site includes 50,000 listings in more than 8,000 cities and 166 countries. Users have made more than 700,000 bookings.
Along with the funding news, Airbnb announced a new iPhone app and an Instant Book feature. The iPhone app allows users to browse and book properties on their phone and includes a a4AFind a Place Tonighta4 option that lists available rooms near your current location.
The Instant Book feature lets hosts say that they dona4a4t need to approve a reservation, so guests can make their reservation with just a click. In some cases, that might not be anything more than a nice convenience, but it could be a lifesaver if youa4a4re trying to find and reserve a room at the last minute.
Airbnb was incubated by Y Combinator and also raised seed funding from Sequoia and Youniversity Ventures. Its total funding is now $7.8 million.
[via Business Insider]
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Companies: Airbnb, Greylock Partners, Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, Youniversity Ventures
Companies: Airbnb, Greylock Partners, Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, Youniversity Ventures
Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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