A Hotel Giant Without Hotels
Airbnb has come a long way since 2008. The co-founders first began the company in San Francisco and offered guests inflatable mattresses to sleep on. Since then, Airbnb has become the largest hotel “chain” in the world. They were valued at $30 billion while the world’s biggest hotel company (Hilton) was valued at 30% less than that. Ironically, they’ve achieved this by not owning a single room. From one Airbnb listing to 1.5 million listing in 190 nations, Airbnb has become an inspiration for many. In “Staying personal key to Airbnb’s success” by blogger Oliver Pickup, he discusses how the company became one of the world’s most valuable startups.
In his blog, Oliver articulates that the key to Airbnb’s success is being personal. By being personal, the company is able to engage with the millions of Airbnb listers. Every year, Airbnb hosts a convention called the Airbnb Open where more than 5000 hosts from over 100 countries are invited to talk. James McClure, the company’s general 
manager for the United Kingdom and Ireland says that the convention “Is a great opportunity to both connect with the hosts and understand how we can help serve them better.” What truly is amazing about Airbnb is that not only do they actively engage with their hosts; the company wants to do good in the world. In the company’s One Less Stranger campaign, one hundred thousand hosts received an email from CEO Brian Chesky asking them to do something to help someone else. What struck me was what Brian later said: “It’s far better to have 100 people love you than 100,000 sort of like you.”
Upon finishing this blog post by Oliver Pickup, it dawned upon me that what Brian Chesky accomplished was something truly amazing. By constantly engaging with the hosts, he was able form a personal connection with all of them. Chobani is another great exa
mple of a company caring for their workers. Hambi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani, announced in 2016 that he was going to give 10% ownership to his 2000 employees. It should also come to notice that Chobani has become one of America’s leading Greek yogurt brands since its inception in 2005.
This blog post is significant because it illustrates how by being personal, companies such as Airbnb can become successful. As James McClure puts it: “We are very much led by our community.”
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Bibliography
Airbnb’s Latest Investment Values It as Much as Hilton and Hyatt Combined. (2016). Skift. Retrieved 12 November 2016, from https://skift.com/2016/09/23/airbnbs-latest-investment-values-it-as-much-as-hilton-and-hyatt-combined/
Chobani – Products. (2016). Chobani. Retrieved 12 November 2016, from http://www.chobani.com/products
Pickup, O. (2016). Staying personal key to Airbnb’s success. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/the-elevator/12114937/airbnb-success-story.html
Durisin, M. (2016). Chobani CEO: Our Success Has Nothing To Do With Yogurt. Business Insider. Retrieved 7 November 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-success-story-of-chobani-yogurt-2013-5
Wisomo, D. (2016). Undercutting Airbnb – All These Places. All These Places. Retrieved 12 November 2016, from http://www.alltheseplaces.net/undercutting-airbnb/