History of Airbnb Timeline

In April 2009, Airbnb received $600,000 in seed money from Sequoia Capital, with Youniversity Ventures partners Jawed Karim, Keith Rabois, and Kevin Hartz participating.

In November 2010, Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital invested $7.2 million in a Series A funding round, fueling Airbnb's rapid growth.

Image source: Greylock Partners

In July 2011, Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Sky Technologies, General Catalyst, and A Grade Investments partners Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary invested $112 million in the company.

Image source: Andreessen Horowitz

In April 2014, TPG Capital invested $450 million in Airbnb at a valuation of $10 billion, cementing its status among the world's most valuable startups.

Image source: TPG Inc.

In June 2015, General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital Group, Tiger Management, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GGV Capital, China Broadband Capital, and Horizons Ventures invested $1.5 billion in the company.

Image source: General Atlantic

In September 2016, Google Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures invested $555.5 million in Airbnb at a valuation of $30 billion.

Image source: TCV (investment firm)

In March 2017, Airbnb raised $1 billion in funding, bringing total funding raised to more than $3 billion and valuing the company at $31 billion.

In April 2020, Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners acquired $1 billion in shares at an $18 billion valuation plus $1 billion in debt at interest rates of 9%–11.5%, as COVID-19 devastated travel.

On December 10, 2020, Airbnb became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $3.5 billion on Nasdaq in one of the year's most anticipated debuts.

In October 2011, Airbnb established an office in London, its first international office, marking the start of its global expansion.

In early 2012, Airbnb opened offices in Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Moscow, and São Paulo, accelerating its international presence.

In November 2012, Airbnb opened an office in Sydney, its 11th office location, and announced plans to launch the service in Thailand and Indonesia.

In December 2012, Airbnb opened an office in Singapore, strengthening its footprint in Southeast Asia.

In September 2013, the company announced that it would establish its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

Image source: Dublin

In April 2022, Airbnb instituted a policy of unlimited remote working for almost all its employees, letting them live and work anywhere.

Image source: Remote work

In May 2022, Airbnb ceased operations in China, citing complicated regulations requiring detailed guest information be sent to the government and declining business from COVID-19 lockdowns; China represented less than 1% of revenue.

Image source: China

In 2014, linguist Mark Liberman criticized the extreme length of Airbnb's legal agreements, noting that its terms of service, privacy policy, and other policies amounted to "55081 words, or about the size of a short novel, though much less readable".

In July 2016, former Attorney General Eric Holder was hired to help craft an anti-discrimination policy after reports showed hosts were refusing guests whose names suggested they were black.

Image source: Eric Holder

In November 2018, Airbnb announced it would remove approximately 200 listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a decision at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.

Image source: Israeli settlement

Airbnb was accused of being too willing to provide information to Chinese authorities, leading to the resignation of an executive who was also a former deputy director of the FBI, after six months on the job in 2019.

Image source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

In 2019, critics accused some Airbnb hosts in China of discrimination over their refusal to rent to Uyghurs.

Image source: Persecution of Uyghurs in China

After lawsuits in Israel and the United States alleged discrimination based on place of residence, Airbnb reversed its plan in April 2019 and instead promised to donate profits from West Bank listings to humanitarian non-profits.

On February 12, 2020, Airbnb was included on a list published by the United Nations Human Rights Council of companies operating in West Bank settlements involved in activities that "raised particular human rights concerns".

Image source: United Nations Human Rights Council

In March 2020, a subdistrict court ruling in the Netherlands found that Airbnb charging service fees to both host and guest was illegal, entitling 30,000 past guests to reimbursement if they filed claims.

Image source: Netherlands

In August 2020, Airbnb temporarily banned parties in homes rented on the platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a measure later made permanent.

Image source: COVID-19 pandemic

In 2021, Airbnb paid $7 million to an Australian guest who was raped at knifepoint in New York City on New Year's Eve 2015 at a property rented via the platform.

In January 2021, Airbnb allowed attendees of the January 6 United States Capitol attack to book units in the Washington metropolitan area, despite most nearby hotels banning far-right extremists.

Image source: January 6 United States Capitol attack

Airbnb was one of 15 leading sponsors of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and human rights activists asked it to drop its sponsorship in March 2021 as part of boycotts over alleged human rights violations, including the persecution of Uyghurs.

Image source: 2022 Winter Olympics

In March 2022, Airbnb suspended business in Russia and Belarus due to international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Image source: Russian invasion of Ukraine

In June 2022, Airbnb announced it would permanently ban parties and events in homes on its platform, supported by hosts and neighbors who complained of nuisances; enforcement technology rolled out in August 2022.

In May 2024, a former Airbnb contractor alleged in whistleblower complaints to the SEC and FTC that the company had weakened its policies against extremists and hate groups and dissolved the team responsible for removing them.

Image source: Whistleblowing

A lawsuit was filed in July 2025 against Airbnb alleging that it was complicit in price gouging by hosts after the 2025 California wildfires.

Image source: List of California wildfires