[rst]

Techcrunch says, "On any given night in New York there are more people staying in homes via Airbnb than there are rooms in the biggest hotel in Manhattan." For comparison: Starwood Hotels (whose brand names include Westin, W, Sheraton, and others) has more than 20 hotels in New York (some quite large), and a market cap of about $11.3 billion.

FWIW, Airbnb's commissions are 9-15% of the rate (3% from the host, 6-12% from the guest) according to their hosting FAQ[1]; no idea how that compares to typical hotel profits on a room listing...

[1] http://www.airbnb.com/help/topic/hosting

[moses1400]

fyi, the Manhattan Hilton has 2,100 rooms so that means AirBNB is renting out 2,101 or more per night - thats's awesome.

[monopede]

In the video he mentions it's about 5000 per night.

[invisible]

Airbnb does not have many expenses (afaik) besides payroll and low operating costs. Their profit is probably huge considering that. (Whereas a hotel must spend money on electricity for each guest, linens, toiletries, water, elevators, real estate, etc.)