Airbnb was born with 3 airbeds; 20 years later, it’s building 201 homes

Airbnb started with three airbeds and a simple idea to help pay the rent. Nearly 20 years later, the company is putting millions of dollars into housing in Austin, Texas. Last month, Airbnb announced a $6.4 million investment in a project that will support the construction of 201 affordable housing units in the city. The investment is part of the company's new Housing Accelerator programme, which Airbnb says will combine funding, policy changes and new ideas to help build more homes. The Austin project is the first local housing investment under the programme.How Airbnb went from three airbeds to a housing projectAirbnb says its story began when two hosts inflated three airbeds and created a website to help pay their rent.