Pope Francis is asking the diocese of Rome to help alleviate a growing housing crisis in the Eternal City.

The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb.

U.S. stocks cruised to more records as they closed their best week in a year.

A few Prince fans visiting the superstar's hometown of Minneapolis may be lucky to stay at a place that will let them go crazy over his cultural legacy.

Airbnb 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.

Airbnb's profit more than doubled last quarter, but management's disappointing revenue forecast sparked a roughly 7% drop for its stock in after-market trading Wednesday.

Airbnb 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 says it’s banning the use of indoor security cameras in listings on its site around the world by the end of next month.

The historic 2,400-square-foot home on 5th Street in Downtown Lynchburg is now available.

Short-term rental platform Airbnb has agreed to pay 576 million euros ($621 million) to settle a years-long dispute over unpaid taxes in Italy but won’t try to recover the money from its hosts.

A brewery in Amherst is set to close its doors after two years in business.

Airbnb 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.

Airbnb says it made nearly $4.4 billion in the third quarter on better-than-expected revenue and a tax benefit.

Airbnb says its second-quarter profit rose more than 70% from a year ago to $650 million thanks to strong bookings for summer-vacation rentals.

Airbnb is going back to its roots to cater to travelers who are growing more concerned with saving money.

Amherst town leaders will meet Wednesday night to consider whether or not to allow short term rentals like Airbnb's in residential neighborhoods.

The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office is searching for answers after a man died in a shooting Sunday night.

Amherst town leaders are holding a public hearing on whether to allow Airbnb or short term rentals in residential neighborhoods in the town.

The online travel agency Booking.

The online travel agency Booking.

The 1951 Southern Caboose was renovated on a Hill City property overlooking the James River and a local foundry, giving it an industrial vibe.

Theodore TOO, currently stationed in Hamilton, Ontario, will be open for Airbnb stays on Saturday and Sunday.

How many times have you been sitting in ungodly heat just wishing you had a pool in your backyard to cool off in?

Airbnb says it's rolling out new technology to spot and block people who try to use the short-term rental service to throw a party.

Airbnb is reporting a profit of $379 million for the second quarter, and it says bookings were a record.

The American Cider Association announced on July 6 that they are launching a digital Virginia Cider Trail for Virginians and tourists to explore the Commonwealth.

The 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.

Airbnb has reported its second-straight quarterly profit and it says its revenue is now higher than it was before the pandemic.

An art installation inspired by Vice President Kamala Harris, The New York Times’ “The 1619 Project” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” as well as charitable programs from Airbnb, Google, PayPal and the National Football League, are among the finalists for the inaugural Anthem Awards announced Tuesday.

Soon, Airbnb hosts in Oregon will only see the initials of some prospective renters, not their full names.

90s kids can live out their "Home Alone" dreams for real.

Airbnb has reported a strong third quarter with record profit and revenue as more people get vaccinated and return to traveling.

To some, staying in a haunted hotel or Airbnb is a bucket list experience, but when I found out my friends booked an Airbnb in a building that used to be a psychiatric hospital, all I could think was that some ghosts were going to visit me at night.

The Floyd Country Store isn't the only venue at the heart of the Appalachian music scene.

A 1951 Southern caboose was just installed on a Hill City property overlooking the James River and a local foundry, giving the scene an industrial vibe.

There’s still a few weeks left of summer and if you’re planning a last-minute vacation, the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia is warning against vacation rental scams.

Airbnb says it lost $68 million in the second quarter, but that's smaller than losses it posted in the same quarter last year and in 2019.

Just like the B-52's song says, you can live in your own "Private Idaho" when you snag this eclectic Airbnb rental.

Airbnb says it lost nearly $1.2 billion in the first quarter, about three times as much as it lost a year ago, as travel remains depressed because of the pandemic.

Home-sharing site Airbnb posted a $3.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it suffered from the pandemic downturn in travel and recorded one-time costs for becoming a public company. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)Home-sharing site Airbnb posted a $3.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it suffered from the pandemic downturn in travel and recorded one-time costs for becoming a public company. In results released Thursday — Airbnb's first as a publicly traded entity — the company took a charge of $2.8 billion for stock compensation related to the IPO. The company did say revenue will not decline as much in the current quarter as it did in the fourth quarter of last year. Since the start of the pandemic, Airbnb has shifted its focus to beach towns and mountain destinations — outdoorsy places where the risk of contracting the coronavirus is perceived to be lower.

FILE - This Feb. 22, 2018, file photo shows an Airbnb logo during an event in San Francisco. Airbnb said Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, that its reviewing reservations in the Washington, D.C., area ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration and will bar any guests associated with hate groups or violent activity. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)Airbnb says it will be blocking and canceling reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the presidential inauguration. The San Francisco-based home sharing company also said Monday that it won’t give political donations to the Republicans who voted against certifying the results of the election last week. Democratic President-elect Joe Biden was the biggest recipient of Airbnb donations.

Airbnb 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.

Airbnb said Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, that its reviewing reservations in the Washington, D.C., area ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration and will bar any guests associated with hate groups or violent activity. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)Airbnb said Monday that it’s reviewing reservations in the Washington, D.C., area ahead of next week’s presidential inauguration and will bar any guests associated with hate groups or violent activity. Airbnb said it will warn all guests in the Washington region that it may bring legal action against them if they are members of hate groups or if they plan violent activities. Airbnb said it’s also banning from its platform anyone who engaged in criminal activity in last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. Democratic President-elect Joe Biden was the biggest recipient of Airbnb donations.

Thirteen years after its founders first rented air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment, Airbnb is making its long-awaited stock market debut. Airbnb had initially set a price range of $44 to $50 for it shares, but raised that to a range of $56 to $60 earlier this week, indicating rising investor demand. Airbnb’s listing comes a day after another San Francisco-based company, DoorDash, soared through its initial public offering. Its stock jumped 85.8% to close at $189.51 after the company priced shares at $102 each, raising $3.4 billion with its offering. Airbnb initially planned its IPO for the spring but shelved it when the pandemic ground global travel to a halt.

DoorDash shares surged nearly 86% above their offering price of $102 in their market debut Wednesday. Airbnb’s own market debut on Thursday could end up blowing past that. “This year had a lot of large IPOs,” said Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital. Airbnb put off a market debut in the spring when the pandemic crippled global travel. Uber, which raised $8.1 billion in its market debut last year, has yet to get out of the red.

DoorDash shares soared in its initial public offering Wednesday, capping a year of explosive growth for the food delivery company. Powering that service are 1 million delivery drivers, who are independent and not considered DoorDash employees. But lockdown orders and the closure of indoor dining have made DoorDash indispensable for many restaurants and diners this year. DoorDash now controls 50% of the U.S. food delivery market. Skeptics thought the economics of food delivery would fall apart in less dense areas, because there was lower demand.

Airbnb has raised the price of its shares ahead of its initial public offering this week, betting investors will pay more given its resiliency during the pandemic. In a government filing Monday, Airbnb said it expects to price its shares between $56 and $60 each, up from a range of $44 to $50 earlier this month. Airbnb is expected to issue a final share price late Wednesday ahead of its Thursday IPO on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The new price would let the San Francisco-based home sharing company raise up to $3.4 billion in the offering. Airbnb has more than 7 million listings on its platform, run by 4 million hosts worldwide.

Airbnb hopes to raise as much as $2.6 billion in its initial public stock offering this month, betting investors will see its home-sharing model as the future of travel. It’s a remarkable comeback for the company that delayed its IPO when the coronavirus pandemic crippled global travel in the spring. Airbnb has more than 7 million listings on its platform, run by 4 million hosts worldwide. But Airbnb has recovered more quickly than traditional hotels as travelers seek whole homes in rural areas far from crowds. Airbnb said it also expects more business people will book vacation rentals, since many can now work from home.

The 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 said Thursday it will require hosts to comply with enhanced cleaning procedures as part of its effort to reassure guests and local officials during the coronavirus pandemic. Hosts in China are exempt because have their own local cleaning program, the company said. Airbnb is no longer requiring hosts to leave their rentals vacant for at least 24 hours between guests, as it did in April. San Francisco-based Airbnb said nearly 1.5 million listings have signed on to the enhanced cleaning standards since they were introduced in June. The company has also been removing party houses from its platform after a shooting last year at an unauthorized Halloween party in California.

Airbnb will prohibit one-night rentals over Halloween weekend as part of its ongoing effort to crack down on party houses. Five people were killed in the shooting, which happened during an unauthorized Halloween party. San Francisco-based Airbnb said it will ban one-night rentals of entire homes in the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 30 or Oct. 31. Previously booked one-night rentals will be canceled and Airbnb will offer refunds. And in August, Airbnb banned parties worldwide and limited occupancy at its rentals to 16 people.

Airbnb is offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to five people looking to make a difference. A two month sabbatical in the Bahamas. It’s a joint effort between Airbnb and the Bahamas National Trust. Those selected to take part in the sabbatical will spend April and May traveling to three Bahamian locations to help preserve the country s natural and cultural resources. Airbnb will announce who has been selected for the project on March 25.

ASHEVILLE, NC – A couple in North Carolina is building an Airbnb “to rule them all.”Mike Parrish and his wife are building a ‘Hobbit Hole’ home based on the ones in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” books and movies. It includes a Hobbit Hole’s signature round wood door. “I’m not just a casual fan, I’m a huge fan," said Parrish. "We’re coming up with what we hope will be the coolest hobbit home on the east coast.”The hobbit hole home is expected to be finished in about two months. Parrish and his wife haven’t decided how much they’ll charge per night to stay there.

A woman vacationing in a Virginia Beach Airbnb discovered a hidden camera above her in the shower, recently unsealed court documents show. The woman told officers she noticed a reflective black dot taped to the ceiling of the shower during the second day of her stay in July, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. When she and her friends investigated further, a small camera fell out, Virginia Beach officers wrote in the warrant. A man who lives in the house told police he hid the camera and collected video of at least one of the women, the search warrant said. The man still lives in the house and told the newspaper last week that the homeowner is out of the country.

CNN 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.

Those who aren't already Airbnb hosts may make a verified Airbnb account and list their home. Through Open Homes, Airbnb organizes relief stays for people needing a home or bed in the face of natural disaster, war, conflict, or other disastrous events. "Hosts can play an important role in their community's response and recovery just by offering their extra space," according to the Open Homes website. Participating hosts list their homes for free on the website and Airbnb waives all booking fees. Once hosts opt into the program, their home appears available on the Open Homes booking tool to all those from the affected area.

SAN FRANCISCO - California's wildfires have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes as firefighters battle historically dire conditions. While families scramble to find shelter, several funds have been set up to help evacuees deal with the anticipated damage they'll face when they return to their homes and businesses. The United Way of the Wine Country set up the Kincade Fire Emergency Relief and Recovery Fund to help victims both in the short and long-term. The Red Cross has opened multiple shelters while the Salvation Army is providing meals, emotional and spiritual support to evacuees. The Red Cross also has a "Safe and Well List" to mark yourself safe or check on loved ones.

Ian and Denise Feltham, a couple from the UK, made vacation plans based on an Airbnb listing for a property that apparently didn't exist. IBIZA, Spain - Ian and Denise Feltham, a couple from the UK, made vacation plans based on an Airbnb listing for a property that apparently didn't exist. The dog-friendly listing -- the Felthams were traveling with their two Yorkshire terriers -- seems to have been based on a real apartment. The Las Boas staff member called the Airbnb listing a "fake," saying no such property even exists among the 40 units we saw on Las Boas' website. Ian Feltham has confirmed to CNN that photos on Las Boas' website match photos posted with the Airbnb listing he and his wife booked.

Slack's stock took a beating after its first earnings report as a public company earlier this month. Airbnb, which was valued at about $31 billion in its most recent private fund-raising round, didn't reveal how it plans to list its shares. Airbnb is one of the most well-known so-called unicorns, or startups valued at over $1 billion. This year has seen a number of high profile IPOs, including from Uber, Lyft, Zoom, Slack and Pinterest, so Airbnb has likely faced questions over the timing of its offering. In June, the company announced it was adding Airbnb Adventures trip packages in locations around the world to its platform.

Airbnb activated its open homes program for the storm, connecting hosts who want to help with those that need it. Airbnb sent out the call to action looking for hosts, and people in the area, as well as the rest of the Southeastern United States, responded in droves. It's Julie Atkins' place, nestled just a mile from the Appalachian Trail, and she loves to share it. Because both the hosts and the company waive their fees and charges, no one gets paid, and many hosts see this as their way to help. Airbnb said it's using enhanced screening programs to make sure only people who truly need the help are getting the special savings.

Swimply allows users to look up private pools in major cities that are available to rent by the hour. It's a great way for people who don't own pools to have a little summer fun, and it gives pool owners a way to earn some extra income. The company currently has pools available in 20 states across the United States, with more to come as the website becomes more popular. The price to rent a pool by the hour isn't as expensive as you might believe. If you split the cost among a couple of friends it won't be wildly expensive.

The house Bella Swan lived in before Edward Cullen turned her into his vampire bride in the movies is now available to rent on Airbnb for just $330 a night. You can even rehash the age-old debate of Team Jacob or Team Edward by deciding if you're going to stay in the Team Edward room or Team Jacob room. Considering the room has a Jacob cardboard cutout, it's safe to assume the owners of the house are Team Jacob. The reviews of the rental are absolutely stellar, with many "Twilight" fans praising just how fun it was to stay the night at the Swan house. You can see the full Airbnb listing (including some photos of the house) by clicking here.

Airbnb/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.