Founded in August 2008, Airbnb is now a world-famous, reliable platform allowing users to advertise, browse and rent unique places to stay all over the planet.
The number of hosts based all over the world has multiplied over time, ensuring that travellers can choose between all manner of apartments, houses and even castles in 65,000 cities and 191 countries.
But how did it all begin?
A city conference that became a business.
It may seem incredible now, but Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky – both co-founders of leading home-sharing company Airbnb – used to live together and share their rent back when they were just two young designers. In 2007, while they were sharing an apartment in San Francisco, the two room-mates realised that hotel availability for the Industrial Design Society of America’s annual conference was non-existent. To help them pay the rent, Gebbia and Chesky designed to rent out part of their apartment to visitors interested in attending the event.
An exceptional idea.
Gebbia and Chesky didn’t stop at simply taking advantage of the overbooked hotels in their city. They decided to create a new travel experience that would be more personal, more human, as Airbnb’s advertising campaigns now promise. It was the catalyst that set the wheels of the idea in motion, and the two designers – joined by third co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk – decided to try to launch the new business in the tourist hospitality market.
A turbulent start.
It was clearly a very good idea, but the problems came thick and fast. Gebbia, Chesky and Blecharczyk were turned down seven times by investors, with the push-backs meaning they nearly went out of business just one year after setting up. What saved the idea were more brainwaves, such as the idea of advertising on customised cereal boxes during the Democratic Convention in 2009.
The core values of success.
Airbnb is valued at around $30bn, but despite the success its values have remained constant: safe online payments, a model based on reviews designed to ensure maximum transparency for users and sustained efforts to build and manage the community. Ultimately, Airbnb is a great business example for anyone considering launching their own start-up.