What was the original name of Airbnb when it launched in San Francisco in 2008?

Airbnb originally launched as AirBed & Breakfast in San Francisco in 2008.

Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk created the service after Chesky and Gebbia hosted visitors in their apartment during a design conference when local hotel rooms were scarce. They offered air mattresses and breakfast, which inspired the original name.

The company later shortened its name to Airbnb as the marketplace expanded beyond air mattresses and spare rooms. It began listing a wider range of homes and accommodations, allowing hosts to rent spaces to travelers through an online platform.

A common mix-up is treating Airbnb as if it began as a conventional hotel chain. Its distinctive model instead connected individual hosts with guests, helping popularize peer-to-peer accommodation and the broader sharing-economy approach.