Airbnb Has Emerged From the World of Interesting Start-Ups Into the Select Group of Internet Powerhouses

More than two years ago, I wrote about a San Francisco start-up called Airbnb ( www.airbnb.com ) which encouraged its users to rent spare rooms or spare cots (or even an air mattress) in the apartment of a person who remained in residence throughout the rental. It seemed to me to be a very interesting use of overnight resources, a transaction that was a win-win for both the owner of the apartment and the overnight guest. And on numerous occasions in the ensuing years, I have named Airbnb as a way to find decent but cheap accommodations in overcrowded cities both in the U.S. and abroad.

Yesterday, in a feature article in The New York Times' business section, it was revealed that Airbnb.com has now received a capital infusion of more than $100 million to enable it to open overseas offices. It appears to have reached a commanding position in the world of overnight rentals, used not to rent whole apartments but simply rooms or cots within an occupied apartment, a limitation which enables Airbnb to steer clear of the ordinances of several cities (New York, among them) which rohibit the short-term rental of whole apartments to transient visitors.

You may also recall that more recently in this Blog, I pointed out that Airbnb now has a British rival, iStopOver ( www.istopover.com ), which appears to perform the same function, as does Wimdu ( www.wimdu.com ) headquartered in Rome (with an initial emphasis on capitals of western Europe).

So now, to summarize, we have at least five different means of avoiding the high cost of hotel rooms when we travel:

One is to stay free-of-charge in the home or apartment of a well-meaning, warm-hearted resident, by using either U.S. Servas ( www.usservas.org ), CouchSurfing ( www.couchsurfing.org ), or GlobalFreeloaders.com ( www.globalfreeloaders.com ), all of which arrange for free stays.

The second method is to stay free of charge by swapping use of your own home or apartment for that of another person in another city, during the times of your respective vacations, using HomeExchange.com ( www.homeexchange.com ), Intervac ( www.intervacus.com ), or many others.

The third approach is to join a hospitality club whose members charge only a nominal amount (like $20 or $25 a night) for the right to stay overnight in their homes or apartments: The long-established Hospitality Exchange ( www.hospex.net ) or the The Affordable Travel Club ( www.affordabletravelclub.net ) come immediately to mind.

The fourth is to stay in a hostel charging about $25 or $30 a night per person, of which an increasing number are now found in large cities around the world, using Hostelworld.com ( www.hostelworld.com ), Hostelmania ( www.hostelmania.com ), or many others. Hostels no longer lodge you solely in dorms, but offer an increasing number of private rooms.

And now the fifth approach, bringing your costs in most instances up to $35 or $40 a night per person, is to rent a spare room or spare cot (or air mattress) in the home or apartment of a person who remains in residence during your stay, using the sites mentioned above.

It's an interesting new world of accommodations, isn't it? Increasingly, smart travelers not only save money but improve the quality of their stays -- enjoy a more authentic experience of the life led by locals -- by using alternative accommodations in place of traditional hotels.