Airbnb
By: Henry Guo
Airbnb is a fast growing business based in downtown San Francisco. This company is very unique in its business model and is challenging traditional hotel businesses. It allows homeowners to rent their rooms or whole apartments out to travelers, which provides tourists a less expensive and more ingratiated lodging option. I had a very good experience with Airbnb when my family traveled to Europe last year. We booked two bedroom apartments in Rome and Venice respectively, and the prices were very affordable compared those of hotels in their vicinities. In addition, the apartments also had kitchens for simple cooking, which hotels don’t usually have.
I recently got a chance to visit Airbnb’s headquarters in San Francisco. It has over 2000 employees worldwide, and there are over 900 employees that in San Francisco alone. The whole building was re-constructed and modified from an old warehouse, and inside, employees shared open spaces with different decor styles. All decoration ideas stemmed from different employees with their own different c creative ideas. They named different working areas and conference rooms after cities, like Paris, Shanghai, and Amsterdam. All rooms were decorated based on each city’s culture and style. The lounge area, open to all employees, was decorated like a kitchen and offered amenities such as a coffee maker, snacks, and drinks. The company had a very relaxing and homey environment for the employees, attracting some of the most talented to join and contribute to the company.
As a whole, the Airbnb business is fastly booming and seems like a more popular option not only for customers but also career paths.
