Twelve years after Airbnb launches, it records its 500 millionth guest arrival. This goes across six million tree houses, boats, homes and more. But the 500-million milestone isn’t its only achievement. Airbnb has also shared that its hosts have earned $65 billion from renting out space on the platform. The company is also envisaging a 152% growth in the number of rooms available on its platform.

Airbnb crossed the half-billion profit margin recently after aggressive expansion strategies. Now valued at $31 billion, the American company announced it would buy HotelTonight. HotelTonight is a mobile app that lets travellers arrange last-minute accommodations. The deal with the online travel app is reportedly worth about $465 million.

The company has also recently acquired an Indian hotel startup, Oyo.

The long-term goal of the company is to build an end-to-end travel platform. This includes everything from home sharing, holiday and hotel bookings to business travel arrangements, tours and more.

Since 2016, Airbnb has tripled its sales. The company is rapidly exceeding hospitality pioneers. Its annual sales have overtaken that of big hotels like the Hilton. It also seems like they will be exceeding the Marriott in no time. As of 2019, the company boasted of raising up to $4.4 billion. This would be a combination of debt and equity funding from venture capital investors.

Airbnb now has dominated the peer-to-peer rental industry so far. However, competitors like Expedia, HomeAway and the likes are closing behind steadily.