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The hotels were sold out, and Mr. Chesky needed money for rent, so he and his roommate turned their Cocktail Dresses into a makeshift bed and breakfast with three air beds. "It inspired us," he said. Today, the service claims nearly 700,000 users and has rooms listed in 13,000 cities across 181 countries. And they aren't just plain old rooms. On Airbnb, you can rent out sailboats, tree houses in South Africa, a castle in Morocco and even an igloo in Slovenia. The Prom Dresses 2011 is rolling out offices around the world and plans to offer a new service that will let people rent spaces for longer than 30 days. "For the first time, we were giving people access to spaces they never had access to before," Mr. Chesky said. Bob Patterson, an account manager with the Elegant Sweetheart Neck Blue Long Prom Gown public-relations firm VSCpr, tapped Airbnb when he was looking for a place to stay earlier this year during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. All of the hotels were sold out, but he found a clean room in a house with a bathroom across the hall for $60 a night. His host even drove him to the convention center each morning. Mr. Patterson said Elegant Yellow Strapless Sweetheart Prom Dress has recommended the service to co-workers and plans to use it again. "I am thinking of renting a whole house next year in Austin," he said. Airbnb's move into longer-term rentals will put it in competition with bigger rivals like vacation-rental site HomeAway.com Inc. Airbnb still doesn't generate positive cash flow, but Mr. Chesky said it is close. The company isn't yet aiming to be profitable while it plows money into expanding overseas. So far, Airbnb has raised about $8 million, but is out looking to raise a large amount of money. Chegg rents textbooks to college students for around 25% to 50% of the cost.