Our timeline presents a brief history of online rental platforms, from the initiation of digitized tourism to the launch of various online housing platforms, including VRBO, CRAIGSLIST, Booking.com, HomeAway, and Airbnb.
For the second half of this timeline, we focus on the rise of Airbnb from multiple dimensions, including its idea creation, funding, expansion, new services and functions, usage milestones, and how it has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years.
This timeline shows not only the developmental process of online rental platforms and, particularly, Airbnb, but also its role in the digitized tourism industry and our communities.