Hotel schmotel, 60k people stayed with Airbnb on August 4

Who needs a hotel? Apparently not the 60,000 people who couch-crashed, apartment-surfed, castle-raided, and island-borrowed on August 4 courtesy of Airbnb.

Airbnb is the four-year-old, heavily-funded startup that gives adventurous types a people-powered way of finding an alternative to hotels.

The San Francisco-based company today announced that it set a new record on Saturday, August 4, when 60,000 people, using Airbnb, stayed at other people’s places for the night. The company said it was responsible for more stays in one night than double the maximum occupancy of the Venetian in Las Vegas, the largest hotel in the world.

London and Los Angeles were two popular destinations, with 3,400 folks opting for a unique experience in the city of the Olympic Games, and 1,900 people choosing short sublets over stays at hotels in the Southern California hotspot.

Altogether, Airbnb guests opted for rentals in more than 500 cities spanning all continents, save Antarctica. We’re just a wee bit envious of the people who picked private islands or castles for the night.

Photo credit: Stephanie Swartz/Shutterstock