Facilitating events

Airbnb was born around an event. The founders of Airbnb offered inflatable mattresses and breakfast to conference attendees in San Francisco who could not find a place to stay. Airbnb launched at the 2008 Democratic National Convention where attendees with unused space in their homes hosted attendees unable to find commercial accommodation. Airbnb was conceived and born around events. This chapter explores the role peer-to-peer accommodation networks can play in the context of both large, international events and small rural and regional events