But despite all of this, Airbnb, now synonymous with the short-term rental concept it pioneered in 2008, is carving its own path amidst significant shifts in travel trends and consumer preferences. Since the start of the pandemic, home rentals have outperformed hotels in 27 global markets. Interestingly, more than half of all Airbnb bookings are being made within 300 miles of the renters' home. With a valuation of $100 billion on its first day of public trading in mid-December (the equivalent of Expedia and Marriott combined ), Airbnb's IPO has established the sustained resiliency of the home rental market throughout the pandemic. And of course, there are far-reaching implications for the more than 660,000 registered Airbnb hosts within the United States and 7 million listings across the globe.