Online home-rental marketplace Airbnb, Inc. "won a bid to provide rooms for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as the city scrambles to accommodate visiting fans and athletes." The company, which has become one of Silicon Valley's most successful start-ups in the five years since it was founded by a trio of graduates, "beat off competition from two other accommodation providers Hotel Urbano and Alugue Temporada." As part of the deal, Airbnb "will provide 20,000 rooms for the event," the source said "without saying how much the contract was worth." Under the deal, Airbnb "will likely become a sponsor and partner for the Games" (REUTERS, 3/25). ... Host city for the 2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro "is under mounting pressure to ensure the safety of athletes competing in open-water competition," with Australia's chef de mission "outlining her concerns for sailors, triathletes, open-water swimmers, rowers and canoeists."
Australia's team boss Kitty Chiller: "I am concerned that there is a possibility, with the current state of the waters, in respect of quality and floating debris, that it could be a risk for our athletes." The prospect of using portable fresh-water showers "is being explored for the Australian open-water and triathlon competitors" (THE AGE, 3/25).
