The famous Rio de Janeiro welcome and hospitality of its residents will play a lead role in accommodating visitors during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. After Rio 2016 signed an agreement with Airbnb, the online home rental community, about 20,000 affordable accommodation options in the city will be available to visiting sport fans.

“Unlike most hotels we can offer visitors the feeling of being at home, and the majority of guests we host are searching for exactly this,” said Daniel Almeida, who rents eight rooms in his home in the bohemian neighbourhood of Santa Teresa through Airbnb. “We may not have the very best rooms or locations in the city, be what makes us different is the human warmth we offer.”

The construction of new hotels in Rio means the demand for 40,000 rooms for Games clients – such as representatives of the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee and International Sports Federations – has been met. In 2009, the city had half this number.

However, with Embratur, the Brazilian Tourism Institute, predicting 380,000 foreign visitors for the Games, the rooms offered by Airbnb will help the city cope with the influx. Rio is the city with the fourth largest number of properties on Airbnb – exceeded only by Paris, New York and London.

The Silicon Valley company was announced as the official alternative accommodation services supplier for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at an event at the organising committee’s headquarters on Friday (27 March). Co-founder Joe Gebbia said Rio’s residents, known as cariocas, will contribute to the Games atmosphere. “With visitors travelling from around the world, Rio residents will get to serve as diplomats for their home country, hosting a global audience with real, authentic Brazilian hospitality,” he said.

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman said: “Airbnb has proven to be a wonderful choice in allowing us to increase supply. We are aware of Airbnb’s capacity in Rio and understand the impact that partnering with the leader in alternative accommodations will do for visitors coming to experience Rio and the Games.”

Airbnb will have a presence on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games ticketing platform via a specific landing page where customers will be able to book their listings in Rio. To find more about tickets, visit http://www.rio2016.com/en/take-part/spectators.