misterb&b

misterb&b
Private
Industry LGBT Homestays, Social Network
Founded Paris, France, 2013 (2013)[1]
Founder Matthieu Jost
François de Landes[1]
Marc Dedonder[2]
Julien Delon[3]
Headquarters Delaware, United States[4]
Website www.misterbandb.com

misterb&b is a travel and social networking website that provides rented lodging primarily to individuals in the LGBT community.[5][6] The site is modeled after Airbnb, providing a searchable database of short-term rentals of homes, rooms, and apartments.[7] The website operates globally and has gone from offering thousands of rooms available in 65 countries[2][8] to 25,000 hosts in over 130 countries as of 2015.[9]

misterb&b was called the "gay Airbnb" by Forbes.[10] The site serves as a catalyst for the gay community to connect in real life, becoming a response for the strong demand for collaborative tourism in the booming niche of gay travel.[10]

History and formation

misterb&b started as a combination of gay travel website myGayTrip and short-term apartment rental service, Sejourning.[7] It was envisioned as a gay-friendly alternative to Airbnb.[11] Co-founder Matthieu Jost had used services like Airbnb in the past with mixed results. Jost suggested that it was difficult to screen potential hosts to see if they might be gay-friendly. After several uncomfortable experiences, Jost looked into starting his own alternative.[12]

The website was launched in the spring of 2013.[11] Since that time, it has featured over 5,000 hosts with rooms and apartments in over 95 countries,[13] including more than 600 vacation rentals in Spain and Portugal alone.[2] In 2013, openly gay model, Johan Akan, was announced as misterb&b's global brand ambassador.[14][15]

By 2015, misterb&b had 55,000 hosts in over 130 countries,[9] making it the largest hotelier in the world.[16] The company was selected for and participated in 500 Startups, one of the largest early-stage accelerators in the world.[16] It was selected by The Next Web as one of the top notable startups from the accelerator. The company also raised $2 million in seed funding at that time.[16]

Operation

The main function of the website is to match prospective LGBT travelers with LGBT-friendly hosts in numerous cities throughout the world. The website encourages its hosts to make their apartments or rooms available during major LGBT events in their city. It also acts as a social networking service, travel guide, and community for gay travelers throughout the world.[2] There is no charge for posting an apartment or room for rent on misterb&b,[1] but the site charges 4% on room fare from the host and 12% of the final bill from the guest.[2]

Users can search using a number of parameters in their desired city. Some of these parameters include: willingness to accept pets, the choice between gay or simply gay-friendly hosts, and an option for seeking out "unusual" apartments or rooms.[7] Each city also features a "Top Rentals" list which details the hosts and rooms with the best ratings, comments, and reviews.[2]

misterb&b reported that 60% of its hosts do not use other sharing accommodation websites.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pulos, Will (26 February 2014). "misterb&b". Next Magazine. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 I.J. (7 April 2014). "The gay answer to Airbnb gains market share". 02B. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Litzler, Jean-Bernard (14 July 2013). "Des sites pour trouver des locataires qui vous ressemblent". Le Figaro. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "MISTERBNB, INC". www.bizapedia.com. Bizapedia. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Runnette, Charles (11 July 2013). "Gay AirBnB - Rome, Europe, the Planet - On The Cheap". New Now Next. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "misterbnb: premiere levee de fonds de 150000 euros". Tour Mag (in French). 13 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Middleton, Josh (20 March 2013). "A Gayer Version of Airbnb, misterb&b, Launches". Philadelphia magazine. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Vacek, Pavel (9 February 2014). "Misterbnb: novy cestovni projekt nabizejici gay-friendly ubytovani v soukromi po celem svete prave prichazi do Prayh!". Lui Magazine (in Czech). Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 Tabberer, Jamie (10 August 2015). "misterb&b now has 25,000 hosts in 130 countries". Gay Star News.
  10. 1 2 Bender, Andrew (27 June 2014). "An Airbnb For Gay Men (and why women love it too)". Forbes.
  11. 1 2 Folsom, Jake (11 April 2014). "Misterb&b: New School Lodging for LGBT People and Allies". Passport Magazine. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Groffman, Adam (4 April 2013). "New website for gay apartment rentals: MisterBNB". My Gay Travel Guide. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Travel Deals". www.folsomstreetevents.org. Folsom Street Events. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "PHOTOS: MisterBNB's Johan Akan On Working Out, Hooking Up In Paris". Queerty. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "Launch of misterb&b". The Gayly Post. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Gay travel accomodations site misterb&b raises $2M seed Funding". Deal Street Asia. 4 May 2015.

External links

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