Thursday, March 27, 2014

Airbnb Names Portland Its First Shared City

Airbnb, the growing online peer to peer marketplace for vacation rentals, home rentals, and rooms, has highlighted Portland as what it's calling its first "Shared City"--a city where it will work with the city and the community to create "more shareable, more livable cities". According to Airbnb, it is working with Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, to create "shared solutions" to help shape Portland, including making sure that hosts in Portland have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, to help collect and remit taxes to Portland, offer up free housing in case of emergency, and promote Portland as a destination to Airbnb's community, among other efforts. Airbnb said it selected Portland because it has a history of "urban innovation" -- plus a history in promoting green tech, conservation, and co-working spaces.