Misterbnb now available in Belgium

Misterbnb, a travel and social networking site that provides rented lodging primarily to individuals of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, has expanded its services into Belgium, writes De Morgen. The founders are a gay couple from Paris who got the idea after being discriminated against during a weekend break booked through Airbnb. Misterbnb, meanwhile, is booming and is now also available in Antwerp and Brussels, in addition to hundreds of cities in almost 100 countries.

The principle is the same as with Airbnb, but the main difference is that the majority of the rooms let via Misterbnb are offered by gay men and other members of the LGBT community. "Although everyone is welcome, of course," founder Matthieu Jost told De Morgen. "About 10% of our users are women who feel more secure booking accommodation from a stranger if they know that their host is gay."

The founders have received more than €1.7 million from investors since launching their site, which currently provides about 25,000 rooms across the world. In Belgium there are about 100.