Airbnb Logo PNG
The Airbnb logo promotes accommodation and housing products worldwide. The emblem embodies the “Belong Together” symbol, which includes four themes: people, places, love, and the company.
Airbnb started in 2007 in San Francisco when Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia rented out air mattresses in their apartment during a sold-out design conference. In 2008, Nathan Blecharczyk joined, and the service launched as AirBed & Breakfast, focusing on short stays during large events, including the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Early growth came with difficulty. To raise funds, the founders sold limited-edition cereal tied to the 2008 election and earned about $30,000. In 2009, Y Combinator provided an initial investment, and the platform dropped the air-mattress concept and rebranded as Airbnb.
By 2010, the company launched a mobile app, raised $7.2 million, and opened its first European office in Hamburg. In 2011, it reached 1 million bookings but faced a trust crisis after a host’s home was damaged, prompting the launch of a $50,000 host guarantee.
Expansion accelerated in 2012 with offices in São Paulo, Barcelona, Paris, London, and Milan, alongside the introduction of Instant Book. In 2013, the “Bélo” logo appeared, marking a shift in brand identity.
From 2014 to 2017, Airbnb added Experiences, business travel tools, and premium listings through Luxury Retreats and Airbnb Plus. In 2019, it acquired HotelTonight and prepared for an IPO.
Despite the 2020 disruption, the company completed its IPO in December. From 2021 onward, it focused on long-term stays and remote work through programs like Live Anywhere, adapting its model to new travel patterns.
Meaning and History
When Airbnb started, it was a small startup offering strangers a place to stay. Over time, the company expanded and evolved into a global platform for booking accommodations worldwide. The logo needed to reflect this growth and the company’s new values. It is not just a housing rental service; it is a community of people who trust one another and create unique travel experiences.
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is an American corporation that provides tourists with housing in private homes. This unique type of accommodation revolutionized the tourism industry, as travelers previously stayed only in hotels or hostels. The company operates through its eponymous website, where users can book accommodation. The company was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia.
2007 – 2008
Air mattresses and breakfast for guests gave Airbnb its name. In 2007, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia invited attendees of a design conference in San Francisco to stay at their apartment. With the city’s hotels nearly full, their living room could fit 3 travelers. In an email to Chesky on September 26, 2007, Gebbia proposed the name AirBed & Breakfast. It played on “bed and breakfast,” a term for accommodations that include a morning meal. Adding “air” turned the bed into an air mattress, tying the name to the sleeping arrangements. Nathan Blecharczyk later joined the founders, and the project grew into a service that lets users book accommodations with private hosts.
Chesky and Gebbia created the first design in 2007 and introduced it in November. The logo featured the full name in large, rounded letters set in the sans-serif typeface VAG Rounded. Light blue “AirBed &” occupied the top line, with “Breakfast” in a pinkish-purple shade beneath it. A thick white outline joined the letters into a single shape, while a gray shadow made the lettering look like a sticker raised slightly above the surface.
A version with the tagline “idsa connecting ’07” used 3 left-aligned lines. The light blue text at the bottom appeared in a thin sans-serif typeface with nearly uniform stroke widths. Its lighter weight kept it secondary to the large name and connected the design to the conference.
2008 – 2009
The founders created the early AirBed & Breakfast logos in hours, expecting to replace them soon. In 2008, they arranged the name on a single line while retaining the color distinction between its parts. The shades became brighter and more saturated. A white backing with a light gray shadow around the letterforms made the horizontal lettering look like a sticker.
The tagline “Forget hotels.” appeared beneath the right side of the name, complete with a period. It offered travelers an alternative to hotels. Right-aligned and set in dark gray sans-serif letters, the tagline used a narrow typeface that differed from the large, rounded lettering above.
2009 – 2010
In March 2009, AirBed & Breakfast shortened its name to Airbnb as the service expanded its listings to include rooms, apartments, and entire houses. The new name retained “air” and “bnb,” derived from “bed and breakfast.” That same year, the founders completed the Y Combinator program and received funding to grow the company. Some of the money went toward a rebrand.
The shortened name appeared in the logo as “AirBnB,” set in Tondo. The first 3 letters, “Air,” remained light blue, while “BnB” became bright pink. The rounded shapes and white border carried over from the earlier design. The gray shadow around the lettering became less blurred.
The gray tagline “A new way to travel.” appeared to the right of the name in Arial Rounded. It accompanied the service’s expanding range of accommodations for travelers.
2010 – 2013
The spelling changed from AirBnB to Airbnb in October 2010, and the logo adopted an entirely lowercase wordmark. A single blue script replaced the separate blue and pink sections. The lettering drew on Bello Script and custom letterforms with thick, rounded strokes. A rightward slant, tall loops, and connected letters gave the word a handwritten appearance. A thin white boundary between the “r” and the following “b” kept their outlines separate.
The white border and blurred gray shadow around the word preserved the logo’s sticker-like appearance. A linear gradient shifting between pale and saturated shades of blue added depth to the lettering.
2013 – 2014
The Airbnb script logo later adopted a flat treatment with white letters and a thick light blue border. Heavy strokes and soft curves made the letters look inflated, recalling the air mattress referenced in the service’s name. The lowercase lettering retained its handwritten appearance. This script logo remained in use until the 2014 redesign.
2014 – 2020
Airbnb’s shift from a technology service to a global hospitality brand guided its 2014 redesign. London-based agency DesignStudio spent about a year working with the company’s internal team, studying the experiences of hosts and travelers. Agency staff did some of the work at Airbnb’s headquarters. Head of Design Andrew Shapiro represented Airbnb, while Executive Creative Director James Greenfield represented DesignStudio. The identity debuted on July 16, 2014. It centered on “Belong Anywhere,” expressing the idea that people could feel at home among others wherever they traveled.
A separate symbol on the left and the company name on the right replaced the previous script wordmark. The emblem was named Bélo, a reference to “belonging.” Its rounded peak extends into 2 diverging sides, with an inner loop that crosses at the bottom. The designers combined 4 images in the symbol. A person with raised arms represents people, a map pin refers to places, an upside-down heart conveys love, and the overall silhouette resembles the initial “A” in Airbnb.
Bélo can be drawn in a continuous line without lifting the pen from the paper. The designers wanted a symbol that people could draw by hand and understand across cultures. They brought in Sign Salad to study cultural associations and help assess how international audiences would interpret the emblem.
The “airbnb” name remained lowercase but adopted separate sans-serif letters with rounded bowls, vertical strokes, and a circular dot above the “i.” The wordmark used LL Brown. Both the symbol and name appeared against a white background in a coral-red shade called Rausch, replacing the previous blue. The color took its name from Rausch Street in San Francisco, where the first Airbnb hosts’ apartment was located. DesignStudio associated it with the warmth of hospitality and the emotions of connecting with others.
Bélo was intended for the host and guest community. Users were invited to create personal versions by adding illustrations and patterns within the shared outline to reflect their own stories and imagery. The symbol could be used on keychains, stickers, and signs at accommodation entrances.
2020 – 2025
The Airbnb logo introduced on March 31, 2020, primarily updated the color. A saturated, warm pinkish red replaced the coral shade. The arrangement stayed the same, with DesignStudio’s Bélo symbol on the left and the lowercase name on the right.
The emblem’s outline continued to combine the shapes of a teardrop, a heart, and the letter “A,” conveying hospitality, openness, and human connection. The wordmark used Airbnb Cereal, developed by Dalton Maag. Its soft, rounded forms and smooth corners supported the logo’s friendly appearance and associations with warmth and comfort.
2025 – today
The weight difference between the “airbnb” lettering and the Bélo outline prompted another logo refinement, introduced on May 14, 2025. Brian Chesky explained that the heavy lettering and thin symbol needed adjustment. In the updated version, a wordmark based on Albula adopted thinner strokes, while the emblem’s outline became thicker.
The proportions and spacing between the logo’s components were adjusted. Further refinements to the curves, angles, and shape of the dot above the “i” brought the letterforms and Bélo into closer alignment.
Font and Colors
DesignStudio in London (UK) developed the updated design. This version features a stylized letter “A” made of four elements, each with a distinct meaning. Specifically, these are people, places, love, and Airbnb itself, united as one. Together, they form a simple yet unique figure, often called “Belong Together.”
The original Airbnb font is airy and italic, while the modern one is strict and classic. The letters on the emblem are streamlined, minimalist, sans-serif. The color palette remained the same to avoid cluttering the service’s visual perception. The debut version features white and light blue, while the current one features rich red.