events in multifamily residences.
(Airbnb announced the party
policy Dec. 5, only to see the news
collide with bad publicity the next
day, when 55 shots were fired and
one person injured at a house
party in Portland, Ore.)
Another significant change
is the guest guarantee. It offers
either booking in an equal-or-
greater-value listing or a 100%
refund in the event that a listing is
subpar. That will include situa-
tions in which a host cancels a
reservation within 24 hours of
check-in, or switches guests to
another listing without their
consent. It also applies when a
rental seems structurally unsafe
or unclean or needs heavy repairs,
Airbnb says.
Do the changes go far enough?
Critics of the company say it’s too
early to tell. Rep. Bonnie Watson
Coleman (D-N.J.) led a group
of House Democrats who wrote
to Chesky after his November
announcement to ask for more
specifics. She calls the plans a
step in the right direction but
says she plans to keep a watchful
eye on Airbnb’s progress.
Other observers see the changes
as useful but late. Matthew Kep-
nes, a travel writer who runs the
blog Nomadic Matt, points to past
instances when Airbnb shut down
problem rentals only after they
drew media attention. “They’re
very reactive, and I think they’re
trying to become more proactive
as they go public,” says Kepnes.
“If they weren’t going public so
soon, I’m not sure they would have
taken these measures so quickly.
What good is a public company
that can’t operate in countries and
cities around the world?”
LONG THE corridors at
Airbnb’s headquarters,
colorful posters depicting
Experiences line thewalls. There’s Pauline’s Fromage
French (cheese), Kevin’s Tokyo
Joe (coffee), Lofti’s Let’s Long-
board (skateboarding). Photo
portraits of hosts hang next to
the posters, along with museum-
like description panels. “I always
had a passion for hospitality,”
reads a quote from Pablo, from
Salamanca, Spain.
Policing all these far-flung
hosts will carry a price tag that
could eat into future profits.
Chesky says the new safety com-
mitment will require an invest-
ment of $150 million over the
next year—a figure that doesn’t
include any revenue impact from
lost listings. But he’s adamant that
it won’t dent long-term growth.
“[If ] there’s a standard we can
stand behind in a deeper way
than before, I think more people
will use Airbnb,” he says.
Chesky frames tighter safety
rules as a way to enable Airbnb
to push ahead—with safety and
governance as well as growth in
mind—by doubling down on its
hosts. Verification, he asserts,
will enable Airbnb to “make sure
there’s a host’s spirit to the listing,
that it’s actually people-powered.”
It’ll be less about standardization
than about relying on its hosts to
mature with the company: “The
hard work is trying to mobilize
millions of people and level up
their game.”
Back on Oct. 23, before
trouble erupted, I had asked
Chesky what it felt like to sit
atop a company that was large
enough to affect that many
people’s lives. “You know how
every day you stand in front of
the mirror, brush your teeth, and
don’t really feel like you look
any different?” he replied. “And
then somebody shows you an old
picture, and you’re like, ‘Wow,
I’ve really changed.’ ”
So has Airbnb. And to endure,
it will have to keep changing.DATA SHEET
THE
BUSINESS
OF
TECHNOLOGY
DOESN’T
BLINK.
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