We scour the internet to find the most interesting news on the collaborative consumption front. Here are our picks for the week:
Airbnb in funding talks valuing it at about $10 billion: source
Reuters
Online home-rental marketplace Airbnb Inc is in advanced talks with private equity firms including TPG Capital Management LP to raise funds that would value the company at about $10 billion, a person briefed on the matter said Thursday.
Airbnb cozies up to cities
Leigh Gallagher, CNN Money
The “sharing economy” pioneer launches an ambitious new partnership with Portland, Ore. — and a new model for enriching the cities in which it operates. (Think philanthropy, free smoke detectors, and … a way to collect taxes.)
Enterprise Rent-a-Car buys Toronto-based AutoShare network
Greg Keenan, The Globe and Mail
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Co. is purchasing Toronto-based AutoShare CarSharing Network Inc., as the concept of vehicle sharing expands as members of younger generations of drivers seek options to buying vehicles to avoid insurance payments, maintenance costs and the high up-front or monthly costs of owning their own vehicles.
Brands that have blazed trails in the sharing economy
Francine Hardaway, imediaconnection
Next time you visit a strange city, how will you find a place to stay? If you are of a certain demographic — a Millennial or a Gen-Xer, perhaps — chances are you will look for a place on AirBnB, a site on which average people list rooms and homes for rent, often at lower prices than hotels.
