RNCollins
TUG Lifetime Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2016
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- Borscht Belt
- Resorts Owned
- Tradewinds, Quarter House, Casa Ybel
Airbnb founder looks back on 10 years and toward what lies ahead
By Jill Menze / February 28, 2018 / Travel Weekly
http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-...ounder-looks-back-on-10-years-and-whats-ahead
“In In just 10 years, Airbnb has grown from a modest home-share site into one of the biggest disruptors in travel. It's enjoyed the kind of success most startups can only dream about -- and with a new slate of product offerings and ambitions that extend into the next century, the company claims it's just getting started. PhocusWire, a sister publication to Travel Weekly, did a Q&A with CEO Brian Chesky, looking back on what has been accomplished and what lies ahead.
Q: It's Airbnb's 10-year anniversary. Can you believe how much the company has grown and how fast things have happened?
A: I think it's pretty surreal. When we started Airbnb, I remember thinking, "It's going to be huge -- one day thousands of people will use it," and 300 million people later... We did not imagine when we built Airbnb that millions of people would use it.
I'll give you an example: When we started Airbnb, it was called AirBed and Breakfast. We thought it would be the company that we'd launch to pay our expenses until we thought of the big idea.
It wasn't clear -- and by the way, there's a lesson here -- that especially in businesses like ours, which are oriented in community that require people to behave a little differently, it's pretty hard to connect the mental dots to something being really big.
Maybe now it's a little easier, but nobody, even us, thought millions of people would stay in people's homes in urban areas. That was not an obvious thing. So it's been an unexpected and wild and crazy journey....”
By Jill Menze / February 28, 2018 / Travel Weekly
http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-...ounder-looks-back-on-10-years-and-whats-ahead
“In In just 10 years, Airbnb has grown from a modest home-share site into one of the biggest disruptors in travel. It's enjoyed the kind of success most startups can only dream about -- and with a new slate of product offerings and ambitions that extend into the next century, the company claims it's just getting started. PhocusWire, a sister publication to Travel Weekly, did a Q&A with CEO Brian Chesky, looking back on what has been accomplished and what lies ahead.
Q: It's Airbnb's 10-year anniversary. Can you believe how much the company has grown and how fast things have happened?
A: I think it's pretty surreal. When we started Airbnb, I remember thinking, "It's going to be huge -- one day thousands of people will use it," and 300 million people later... We did not imagine when we built Airbnb that millions of people would use it.
I'll give you an example: When we started Airbnb, it was called AirBed and Breakfast. We thought it would be the company that we'd launch to pay our expenses until we thought of the big idea.
It wasn't clear -- and by the way, there's a lesson here -- that especially in businesses like ours, which are oriented in community that require people to behave a little differently, it's pretty hard to connect the mental dots to something being really big.
Maybe now it's a little easier, but nobody, even us, thought millions of people would stay in people's homes in urban areas. That was not an obvious thing. So it's been an unexpected and wild and crazy journey....”