Digital Business
Airbnb.
A marketplace connecting hosts and guests, developed from an early accommodation experiment involving Brian Chesky and his co-founders.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Visit AirbnbPEOPLE IN THIS STORY
Brian CheskyEXPLORE THE FIELD
Digital Business / Technology
WHAT THE BUSINESS OFFERS
The work behind
the name.
Stays
A marketplace where hosts list accommodation for guests.
Hosting tools
Tools for presenting and managing a listing.
Booking experience
Search and booking features connecting both sides of the marketplace.
01 / THE BUSINESS IN FOCUS
One marketplace, two sets of needs.
Airbnb traces its beginning to Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia welcoming guests into their San Francisco home. Nathan Blecharczyk joined the founding team as the idea developed into a platform. A small accommodation experiment became the basis for connecting people offering space with people seeking somewhere to stay.
The business must work for both parties. Guests need to understand a listing and make a booking; hosts need to present accommodation and manage the relationship. Product design and trust therefore concern the whole interaction. Chesky’s biography adds the design background and personal decisions behind the company’s development.
THE REFERENCE DESK
Read the
underlying record.
Official sources accompany this portrait. Company descriptions record the business’s own account of its offering and development.
- airbnb.comAirbnb: official website
- news.airbnb.comAirbnb: company history
Brand image: Airbnb — image source.
Our editorial approachBEHIND THE BUSINESS