Whenever I go to overseas I always check Airbnb this cool website and app! Helps me a lot to reservation apartments or rooms in anywhere in the world, so if you are packing to go to somewhere I will definitely suggest you to check this.
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is a social website that connects people who have space to spare with those who are looking for a place to stay. Through their experiences on Airbnb, guests and hosts build real connections with real people from all over the globe.
Guests gain access to unique and distinctive spaces and immerse themselves in the culture of their destinations. We call that traveling like a human! Hosts can effortlessly showcase their spaces to an audience of millions, whether they have an urban apartment or countryside castle.
How does Airbnb work?
Airbnb is a community marketplace where guests can book spaces from hosts. Guests contact hosts using the Airbnb messaging system to confirm availability, then they submit a reservation request when they’re ready. It’s important to keep communication and transactions on Airbnb to best ensure trust and safety and to adhere to our terms of use.
Guests enter payment information when they submit a request, but we do not collect any payment unless the host accepts the request. If the host accepts, Airbnb charges the payment and contact information is exchanged to arrange check-in and reservation details. If the host does not accept, Airbnb does not charge the guest.
We specifically created a payment system to ensure that money is fully collected and safe by holding payments until 24 hours after the guest checks in, at which point we transfer it to the host. This gives everyone the opportunity to confirm that everything is as expected. Once a reservation is completed, both host and guest can review each other to build a reputation in the community, and Airbnb’s circle of life continues!
Why Airbnb is an awesome
1.CRAZINESS – they faced the fear and did it anyway; always finding practical and often contrarian solutions to the problems that many investors turned away from – to their cost.
Source: Steve Jobs, Apple
They didn’t think it crazy or stupid to do the unthinkable or seriously consider what others thought impossible or even stupid. They were NOT engineers looking for a market to showcase their clever algorithms but ordinary guys looking to pay their rent and solve a problem in a way that could benefit others.
They used both sides of their brain (early on potential investors couldn’t understand why designers out numbered engineers) and were often contrarian in their views taking a common sense approach to seemingly intractable problems.
They are obsessive about customer satisfaction, ease of use and creating something of beauty – just as well because the majority of travel is booked by women and if you make the tool nice to look at as well as easy to use you’ll get and keep our attention. (I still avoid Craigslist simply because it’s so geekily ugly). They constitute what Steve Jobs called “The Crazy Ones” and it’s these kinds of people who will be the first to become conscious hosts.
2. PEOPLE: Airbnb acknowledges that hospitality is first and foremost about people meeting people and when people are staying in other people’s home trust and confidence are needed to overcome fear. Sure there’s a transaction and all three parties (host, guest & Airbnb) benefit financially from that but their motivation was enabling both parties to do something they hadn’t thought was possible before. For the guest it meant not only accessing an affordable bed and place to stay using searches of homeowner/renters’ room inventory in real time but the chance to experience a destination in a much more meaningful, personal, human way.
”When someone steps foot in your door, or you step foot in someone else’s door, something powerful is happening – we are breaking down cultural barriers and connecting people in a real way.” Christopher Lukesic, Airbnb employee
When you listen to any of the AirBnB principals speak, the word that you’ll hear over and over again is “community.” Here’s the presentation Disruptions in Brand Building that Christopher Lukesic made to Sustainable Brands last year that highlights the people and place focus, core principals of Conscious Travel. And if you want further proof that transactions will only occur when trust between people has been established then look at their safety video.
3. PURPOSE: AirBnB’s primary purpose as stated on their web site: The Golden rules listed on their website for travelers and hosts alike all encompass values identified as core to Conscious Travel – respect, reciprocity, reliability, commitment, and transparency.
4. PLENTY: a founding principal of Airbnb and Conscious Travel is that everyone wins – guests get personable hospitality at an affordable price; hosts get extra income; communities get more spending in less congested commercial areas and more of the money stays in the community.
Airbnb provides an income to hosts from an asset they would otherwise not be able to access. Note 90% of hosts rent out space in their own home and 50% depend on the income to pay rent, mortgages or other household expenses like medical bills etc. In challenging financial times, this additional income has been a lifesaver for many and, furthermore as over 60% of properties are located outside the downtown cores where hotels are generally located, the tourism benefits are dispersed more widely.
5. PLACE: While Airbnb doesn’t promote destinations as such, its appreciation of community means that it does try to ensure guests can really get to experience the place like a local and not miss experiencing local attractions, amenities and food etc.
Research with their own guests showed the principals at Airbnb that these travellers were going to exceptional lengths to research locations and neighborhoods before booking, and by giving those potential customers more information the company would be solving a piece of the puzzle and potentially extending stays.
6. PULL: Airbnb makes really effective use of social media to harness the power of the social graph as a way of mitigating the risks that both guests and hosts associate with renting a part of their homes to strangers. When the potential guest does a search, the system identifies properties where there is a connection to the person doing the search ( a Facebook friend might “know” – as in be connected to the owner)
7. PROTECTION: While Airbnb does not overtly claim to be particularly “green” or sustainable in practice – it can be argued that, by making better more efficient use of existing housing assets, it places less demand on resources. The potential exists through the neighbourhood program to inform guests of ways in which they can support local businesses, assist local sustainable and rejuvenation efforts, make better use of alternative forms of transport and support other tourism providers that have committed to environmental protection and cultural rejuvenation.
8. PACE: Airbnb guests do tend to stay longer than hotel guests and, because of the dispersed location of many Airbnb properties, they are likely exposed to less well known parts of a city that could cause them to slow down and explore. Admittedly, there is more potential for the realisation of this Conscious Travel principal, than practice right now.
9. EXPERIENCE: the entire Airbnb experience for both guests and hosts is designed to be aesthetically attractive (nothing could look less like Craigslist), simple but functional and reassuring. A striking feature of the service is the use of high quality, professional images that have been know to help significantly with booking rates. Airbnb understand that travel is an emotional purchase based on dreams and fantasies and “eye candy” sells.
Source: Conscious Travel
How do I create an account?
Signing up and creating an Airbnb account is totally free: www.airbnb.com/signup_login
The easiest way to sign up is to connect to Facebook. This will automatically fill out some of your profile, and you’ll get an additional verification for your account. Rest assured we never link anyone to your Facebook account, and you can also control what information is provided to Airbnb by setting your privacy preferences on Facebook.
You can also sign up with your email address to create an account. If you don’t see the option to sign up using just your email address, simply log out of your Facebook account on your computer, reload the Airbnb sign-up page, and the option should be available to you when you click the link.
Who is the Founding Team
Nathan Blecharczyk, CTO & Co-Founder
Nathan is the technical architect behind Airbnb. A pragmatist who translates vision and design into tangible product through fast iterations, Nathan uses data to identify and pursue high-growth opportunities. Under his leadership, the engineering team has developed a robust, secure marketplace which now facilitates a massive amount of commerce each day.
Brian Chesky, CEO & Co-Founder
Brian drives the company’s vision, strategy and growth. Always pushing the status quo, Brian aims to disrupt the industry with ideas that change the way people live. To grasp the full impact and experience of Airbnb, Brian rid himself of an apartment and has been living in the homes of the Airbnb community since June of 2010. He is committed to assembling a passionate, top tier team to deliver on this promise.
Joe Gebbia, CPO & Co-Founder
Joe defines the Airbnb experience. He is dedicated to creating an inspiring and effortless user experience through sharp, intuitive design, and crafts the product roadmap to make it so. Joe values products that simplify life and have a positive impact on the environment, and ensures that the company adheres to these tenets.
So, Are you ready for your next trip?!