Why Airbnb returns to its origins and looks in the mirror of Apple and Volkswage

misumaisa

Airbnb is making major changes to its platform , including more than 50 new features. Among the changes is the introduction of " Airbnb Rooms ", which marks a return to the company's origins when the idea was to stay in the spare rooms of local people. Airbnb was founded in 2007 by 3 men —CEO Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk—who had the idea of ​​renting out air mattresses in their apartments as a cheap alternative to traditional hotels. "We return to the idea that started it all ," says Chesky in a statement. In addition to admitting that the main complaint they receive is that Airbnb is no longer affordable, Chesky explains in a recent interview for Decoder , The Verge 's podcast , what has led him to want to return to the idea with which it all started.

I think one thing that's happened in the last few years is that a lot of founders , especially those who are very successful or have a pretty big app, get a little bored with their core business and fall out of love with it ," says Chesky, who They believe that this is what happened to them and that is why they began to launch a large number of new offers and functions. Over the years, he adds, he felt they needed to go back to the company's roots , to the basics, and to its initial America Cell Phone Number List values ​​of sharing before moving on to create new things. " It's like when Volkswagen reissued the Beetle in the late '90s or Apple released the iMac . There's something about going back to the roots that I think is important for us and for the soul of the company," he adds. Airbnb expects a drop in bookings and prices in the coming months despite beating first quarter estimates.

According to Chesky, another challenge founders have is that when they build the product, they typically build it with themselves in mind. The problem comes when they stop being the same person as when they created the product. "Once you're successful, you're no longer the customer. I can't make products just for 41-year-old tech founders. That's not a really big market. So I have to make sure I remember my 26-year-old self who didn't have much money and that he would probably stay in a room in someone's house as cheaply as possible," explains Chesky in the interview with Decoder . Although the idea of ​​returning to its origins arose in 2019, the pandemic put a big stone in the path of this company that saw business plummet in a matter of weeks : "There is something about almost losing something that makes you fall in love again of it.