Airbnb stands for "Air Bed and Breakfast." This name reflects the company's origins in 2007 when its founders, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, rented out air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment to attendees of a local design conference as a form of temporary lodging
. The concept was a creative workaround to cover rent by offering a place to stay with air mattresses and breakfast, which later evolved into a global online marketplace for short- and long-term homestays and experiences
. Today, Airbnb no longer just refers to air mattresses but has grown to include a wide variety of property types listed by hosts worldwide, from single rooms to entire homes, boats, or even treehouses, facilitating peer-to- peer lodging rentals without owning the properties themselves
