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Michelle Obama and her brother to launch a podcast with weekly guests
Read full article: Michelle Obama and her brother to launch a podcast with weekly guestsMichelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, will host a new weekly podcast series starting this month featuring a special guest pulled from the world of entertainment, sports, health and business.
Airbnb's second-quarter profit fell 15% despite its revenue rising 11% on stronger bookings
Read full article: Airbnb's second-quarter profit fell 15% despite its revenue rising 11% on stronger bookingsAirbnb says its profit fell 15% in the second quarter from a year earlier, as higher income taxes cut into the short-term rental giant’s bottom line even as bookings and revenue rose.
Want to spend the night in a Paris museum or a house owned by Prince? Airbnb plans to list them
Read full article: Want to spend the night in a Paris museum or a house owned by Prince? Airbnb plans to list themAirbnb says it's going to give customers a chance at overnight stays in a Paris museum, a bedroom filled with Ferrari racing cars, and other exotic settings.
Airbnb loses $349 million on Italian tax dispute but posts revenue gain, sees strong demand ahead
Read full article: Airbnb loses $349 million on Italian tax dispute but posts revenue gain, sees strong demand aheadAirbnb says that it lost $349 million in the fourth quarter because of an income tax settlement with Italy.
Airbnb donates $10 million to 120 nonprofits on 6 continents through its unusual community fund
Read full article: Airbnb donates $10 million to 120 nonprofits on 6 continents through its unusual community fundAirbnb has donated a total of $10 million to more than 120 nonprofits in 44 countries on six continents.
There's too much guesswork in renting an Airbnb. The short-term rental giant is trying to fix that
Read full article: There's too much guesswork in renting an Airbnb. The short-term rental giant is trying to fix thatAirbnb says the biggest reason it loses some bookings to hotels is that people never know exactly what their Airbnb rental will look like until they check in.
Clinton Global Initiative will return to New York with Jose Andres, Orlando Bloom, and Matt Damon
Read full article: Clinton Global Initiative will return to New York with Jose Andres, Orlando Bloom, and Matt DamonThe Clinton Global Initiative 2023 will convene “leaders, innovators and dreamers” – ranging from World Bank President Ajay Banga and The Bahamas’ Prime Minister Philip E.
Airbnb ends rentals in China to focus on outbound tourists
Read full article: Airbnb ends rentals in China to focus on outbound touristsAirbnb Inc. says it will stop representing short-term rental properties in China and focus its business in the country on serving Chinese tourists looking for lodgings abroad.
Obama, Airbnb's Brian Chesky launch $100M in scholarships
Read full article: Obama, Airbnb's Brian Chesky launch $100M in scholarshipsThe co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, has donated $100 million to the Obama Foundation to fund scholarships for students pursuing careers in public service and includes multiple stipends for travel.
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Airbnb asked to drop Olympic ties over China rights issues
Read full article: Airbnb asked to drop Olympic ties over China rights issuesAirbnb Inc. is being asked to drop its sponsorship connections to 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics by a coalition of 150 human-rights campaigners. The coalition is headed by groups that oppose rights violations in China including widely reported genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The coalition is headed by groups that oppose rights violations in China including the detention of Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. Ad“Airbnb is also glossing over China’s horrifying human rights record and normalizing to the public what is recognized under international law as a deeply restrictive environment," the letter said. Ad“China firmly rejects the politicization of sports and opposes using human rights issues to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said earlier this month.
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Airbnb to block, cancel DC bookings ahead of inauguration
Read full article: Airbnb to block, cancel DC bookings ahead of inaugurationAirbnb says it will be blocking and cancelling reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the presidential inauguration. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)NEW YORK – Airbnb said Wednesday it will be blocking and canceling all reservations in the Washington, D.C., area during the week of the presidential inauguration. But over Presidents' Day weekend, the site lists more than 300 rentals in the Washington area. Meanwhile, a hotel labor union representing 7,200 hotel workers in the Washington area, called for hotel closures in the area to protect staff and the public. Marriott International said Wednesday that its hotels in the Washington area will remain open leading up to and through the inauguration.
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Asian stocks mixed after Wall St falls on virus pressure
Read full article: Asian stocks mixed after Wall St falls on virus pressureA woman wearing a face mask walks past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street sank following signs damage to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus is worsening while Congress is deadlocked over possible new aid. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street sank following signs damage to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus is worsening while Congress is deadlocked over possible new aid. Shanghai and Tokyo retreated while Hong Kong and Seoul gained. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.4% to 26.524.01.
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Airbnb shares more than double in price in long-awaited IPO
Read full article: Airbnb shares more than double in price in long-awaited IPOIts shares closed at $144.71 apiece, more than double the $68 price that Airbnb had set. The shares are trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “ABNB.”Instead of the traditional ringing of the bell prior to the trading day, Airbnb presented a video of Airbnb hosts from around the world ringing their doorbells. Airbnb’s listing comes a day after another San Francisco-based company, DoorDash, soared through it initial public offering, the second largest after Airbnb's. Airbnb wants to add more hosts and properties, expand in markets like India, China and Latin America and attract new guests. After multiple reports of racist behavior targeting guests, Airbnb instituted a nondiscrimination statement that all guests and hosts must sign.
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Airbnb details years of losses ahead of planned IPO
Read full article: Airbnb details years of losses ahead of planned IPOThe San Francisco-based company has yet to set a date for the IPO but it is laying the groundwork by filing financial records with U.S. securities regulators. Its revenue jumped 32% to $4.8 billion in 2019, but it reported a net loss of $674 million that year. Airbnb said it currently has 7.4 million listings run by 4 million hosts worldwide. Earlier this year, hosts were infuriated when Airbnb allowed guests to cancel and get full refunds amid the pandemic. Airbnb later promised $250 million to hosts to make up the shortfall.

Airbnb bans 'party houses' following Calif. shooting
Read full article: Airbnb bans 'party houses' following Calif. shootingCNN Video(CNN) - Airbnb is cracking down on unauthorized house parties after five people were shot and killed at a Halloween party at an Airbnb rental house, the company's CEO announced Saturday,The company is banning "party houses," CEO Brian Chesky announced Saturday on Twitter, in reference to Thursday evening's shooting. "Second, we are creating a dedicated "party house" rapid response team. The shooting occurred during a Halloween party Thursday night. Three people died at the scene and two others died at the hospital, according to the sheriff's office. The incident is under investigation and no suspects have been arrested, according to the sheriff's office.

Airbnb launches $1,000+ per night luxury rental tier
Read full article: Airbnb launches $1,000+ per night luxury rental tierAirbnb/CNN(CNN) - Penthouses and chateaux are a far cry from the sofas and spare rooms that launched vacation rental behemoth Airbnb. Eleven years after Airbnb founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia invited renters to sleep on air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment, Airbnb has launched an exponentially more luxurious tier of rental properties with Airbnb Luxe. The 2,000 newly listed properties were drawn from Luxury Retreats, a separate rental site acquired by Airbnb in 2017. Airbnb Luxe marks a shift in strategy for the company, which had originally intended to spin the luxury properties into a brand called Beyond by Airbnb. "And the truth is that we already had a great luxury brand in Luxury Retreats and the Airbnb brand itself is incredibly strong; it's one of our real differentiators.