Three million people are staying in Airbnbs over New Year's. Eight years ago, only 1,400 were.

Airbnb has had a meteoric rise. To understand the growth of Airbnb, look no further than the number of guests who rent out rooms over the New Year's holiday. More than 3 million guests are using the service over the holiday this year, according to Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky. For consecutive years until 2017, the number of guests doubled every 12 months. Just eight years ago, only 1,400 guests booked an Airbnb home to celebrate the turning of year. Five years later, that number jumped to 540,000. ...