Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ashton Kutcher partners with new travel website

Ashton Kutcher, travel agent? Well, sort of. The model turned actor has just become an investor in Airbnb, a new website that helps budget-conscious travelers find lodging anywhere from an apartment to a houseboat to a castle, according to the L.A. Times.

"For many, Ashton Kutcher is an actor and heart throb, but in the tech scene he's made his mark as a branding and new media expert with an eye for great ideas and a fearless approach to new markets," Airbnb said in a blog post. "To the Airbnb team, he is more than an icon—he is now our ally and trusted advisor."

Kutcher is already an investor in Skype, Foursquare, the Path photo-sharing app and the iPad news-reading app Flipboard. According to the New York Times, he should have no trouble raising awareness of Airbnb among his 6.8 million Twitter followers and 9.7 million Facebook fans.

For his part, the new "Two and a Half Men" star found Airbnb appealing because it allows users to review both lodging and lodgers.

"It’s moving social trust into commerce," he told the NY Times. "Your home is a very private place, so building trust around turning that into a consumer offering is unlike any other site."

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