Company Description

Airbnb Inc.. is an online marketplace for arranging or offering lodging,

primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. The company does not own
any of the real estate listings, nor does it host events; it acts as a broker,
receiving commissions from each booking. The company is based in San
Francisco, California, United States.

Airbnb has revolutionized the travel and tourism industry. It is a leading

online platform that offers its clients an ideal marketing place where they
can shop and order for a wide range of hospitality services at the comfort
of their home.

It basically allows people to share their extra space and to produce

extra income. It currently covers more than 81,000 cities and 191 countries
worldwide.

Services

Airbnb provides a platform for hosts to lodge guest by providing short-term

lodging and tourism-related activities.

Guests will be able to search for lodging using various filters like type of
lodging, dates, price, and location.

Guests can search for a specific type of homes, vacation homes, bed, and
breakfast. While the hosts provide details like price, location for rent,
number of guests, rules, home types, and other amenities. Hosts set the
prices with recommendations from Airbnb.

Hosts and guests also can leave reviews about their experience of stay
and Airbnb. Hosts and guests’ users may be verified through an online
presence by connecting with their Google or Facebook account.

Other Programs

Airbnb Experiences - activities designed and led by inspiring locals. They

go beyond typical tours or classes by immersing guests in a host’s unique
world.

Airbnb Adventures - is a collection of multi-day experiences hosted by

local experts. Small groups travel to off-the-beaten-path locations and are
immersed in unique cultures and communities. Adventures cover a variety

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of categories and skill levels, from farming to camping, music to animals,
and more.

Open Homes - connects people with a free place to stay in times of need.
The idea for Open Homes came from Airbnb hosts in 2012. After
Hurricane Sandy hit New York, hosts decided to offer their homes for free
to neighbors who were forced to evacuate. Inspired by their generosity,
Open Homes became an official part of Airbnb. Since then, it’s expanded
to support evacuees, relief workers, medical patients, refugees and
asylum seekers. They partner with trusted nonprofits like Mercy Corps, the
International Rescue Committee, and the Bone Marrow & Cancer
Foundation to develop the program and connect their clients with a free
place to stay in times of need. Open Homes stays are always free for the
guests. Some hosts choose to host Open Homes stays for free by signing
up with the Open Homes community. If you haven't signed up to host
guests for free on Open Homes, you'll still receive your usual payment for
your listing when you have an Open Homes booking. Airbnb waives all
service fees for these reservations.

Airbnb for Work - makes it easy to travel and collaborate with your co-
workers. It includes a search filter on Airbnb.com that shows homes and
boutique hotels reviewed specifically for work trips.

History

October 2007 - Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia create the initial concept for
AirBed & Breakfast after they placed an air mattress in the living room that
turns their apartment into bed and breakfast. This was done to balance the
high cost of rent that San Francisco had. The original site offers short-term
living quarters, breakfast and a unique business networking opportunity for
attendees who were unable to book a hotel in the saturated market.
Chesky and Gebbia themselves use Airbnb to help meet the rent for their
loft in San Francisco.

February 2008 - Harvard University graduate and technical architect

Nathan Blecharczyk joins as the third co-founder of AirBed & Breakfast.

August 2008 - The Airbedandbreakfast.com website launches.

March 2009 - The website name is shortened from

Airbedandbreakfast.com to Airbnb.com, and the site's content has
expanded from air beds and shared spaces to a variety of properties
including entire homes and apartments, private rooms, castles, boats,
manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties.

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Mission

“To live in the world where one day you can feel like you’re home
anywhere and not in a home. But truly home, where you belong.”

The mission statement displays the impact the company expects to

have on the lives of its client. It particularly emphasizes the extent of
satisfaction that would position it as a coveted marketing place. The
components associated with this mission statement comprise:

Improvement of life
Exceeding expectations
Creating a sense of belonging.

Vision

“Belong Anywhere”

The vision statement talks about going beyond the regional and
national limitation when it comes to the services any client can get from
Airbnb. The company hints at its global presence and domination, which is
a reflection of its leadership potential in the hospitality sector. Several
components can be extracted from this vision statement.

Belonging. Airbnb is among the first company to come out strongly in

making the world a global village. The company has succeeded in
establishing a wide network interlinking different related hospitality hosts
and service providers, all with the purpose of giving its customers the best
experiences. The beauty of this web is that irrespective of being
widespread, it remains solid in the advancement of the Airbnb concept of
oneness. The level of cooperation, led by Airbnb has been central in the
presence of a feeling of belonging among its customers.

Global presence. To meet the needs of this second component in Airbnb

vision statement, the management of the company recognizes the
importance of pushing similar principles in all regions it operates in. By
doing so, this has created a diverse global community with distinguishing
Airbnb’s characteristics are facilitated by the inclusive platform that all the
hosts and guests enjoy regardless of their location.

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Core Values

Airbnb incorporates values such as champion, simplify, being a

‘cereal’ entrepreneur and adventurousness have been integral in the
success of witnessed so far. Together all these aspects keep the
organization running and getting a step closer to its goals and objectives.

Champion the Mission

Be a Host
Simplify
Every Frame Matters
Be a Cereal Entrepreneur
Embrace the adventure.

This value leads to the second that calls for everyone who comes in
contact with the company to be part of it by offering what they can to
advance its mission and vision. By doing this, they should be led by
simplicity which demonstrates how important even a show of friendliness
is to the business strategies.

The value of cereal entrepreneur is highly recognized for the impact

it has had on the company growth, and therefore, Airbnb considers it a
sense of identity for the company. In relation to this, Airbnb values
adventure as the best source of creativity and sustained growth in any
business as it not only gives birth to new ventures but also promotes joy
and work optimism.

Airbnb Logo

The symbol itself is a combination of four simple symbols: a head to

represent people, a location icon to represent place, a heart for love and
then an A for Airbnb.

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Competitors

Homeaway

The largest provider of vacation rentals on the list, HomeAway has

over 1,000,000 vacation rentals, apartments, cabins and cottages. It has
world-wide inventory and runs numerous brands including: VRBO,
Vacationrentals.com, BedandBreakfast.com, Travelmob (Asia),
Homelidays (France), OwnersDirect (UK), Abritel (France), Stayz
(Australia), Bookabach (New Zealand) and FeWo-direkt (Germany).

All of the brands have the same booking policies, which include the
traveler now paying a fee (~10%) for all bookings that go through the
platform. Unlike Airbnb, travelers will likely not be interacting with the
owners/hosts of the property. HomeAway and its brands are great for
finding rental accommodations for families or people with pets in non-
urban destinations.

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Trivago

Traditionally a European hotel player, Trivago has a surprisingly

good selection of serviced apartments, vacation homes, hostels and bed
and breakfasts. For ease of use, there is not a site that is easier to
navigate. When Airbnb lacks inventory, this is the site to check out due to
its wide breadth of inventory and ease of use.

It is a site worth clicking around on before booking solely on Airbnb.

To find these hotel alternatives, click on “Extra Filters” and then on “Type
of lodging”. Unlike Airbnb, these accommodations don’t have hosts.

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS

Well-established Brand – Airbnb is a well-established brand and has a

good image in public where it is operating. The company’s business model
enables the company to compete with low prices in comparison with hotels
and guests.

Product Expansion – Airbnb has expanded its products outside its core
accommodations, thereby aiming to set up an end to end travel platform. It
also expanded its operations into by allowing guests to book activities with
guides like guided tours, cooking classes, and meetups.

A Cheaper Alternative to Hotels – Airbnb is considered as a cheaper

alternative to other resorts and hotels. The prices for the services are
competitive that are based on location. Customers can shop around, and
they can choose the place that fits in their budget.

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Global Recognition – Airbnb has been recognized at the global level, and
they see many users that include hosts and guests.

Airbnb Plus – Airbnb Plus is a special feature provided by Airbnb that was
launched during the year 2018. The various options under Airbnb Plus are
additional amenities like those found in hotels, right from standard to
luxury listings.

Airbnb Collections – Airbnb Collections that was launched by Airbnb

during the year 2018, features homes that are ideal for any specific
occasions. The various options under Airbnb collections include Airbnb for
work, Airbnb for families and homes for dinner parties, gatherings and
weddings. Airbnb for work provides various tools for companies that
manage many work-related travels of employees.

Strong Social Media Presence – Airbnb has its presence on many social
media platforms to gain maximum visibility among the customers.

Good Customer Service – Airbnb provides goods customer service 24/7

that is one of the main strengths of the company. When they make the
customers happy, there are a lot of users for them.

WEAKNESSES

Laws and Regulations Violations – Airbnb faces problems from violating

various housing laws and regulations.

Poor Hosts – Being a poor host can damage the company’s reputation. If
in any case, the host does not follow the Airbnb guidelines, they can face
the consequences. When there are poor ratings and backlash on social
media, it hits the company’s profit in the current business world.

Easy to Copy its Business Model – Airbnb business model is easy to

copy, and it is a huge weakness for its success.

The Objectivity of Guest Review System – Airbnb has structured a

review system, wherein the guests and hosts can rate each other after
they are done with their stay. Hosts and guests are not able to see reviews
when both have given a review.

Criticized for Higher Prices – Airbnb has been criticized for resulting in a
high price for the stay. The rental prices in a few areas have increased due

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to keeping their properties off the long-term rental market and instead of
that get higher rental rates for short-term housing through Airbnb.

OPPORTUNITIES

Expand into Emerging Markets – Airbnb can expand into emerging

markets having less competition. This provides a huge business
opportunity.

Expand its product – Airbnb can expand its product mix and offerings.
This will help them to serve the customers better. For example, it can
expand its product by providing travel guides, car rentals, etc.

MobileApp Usage – As the usage of mobile app increases, Airbnb has

initiated a mobile app that will facilitate the hosts and guests to get
connected easily.

Low Price and Personal Touch – Airbnb’s low price and personal touch-
enabled them to get their visibility across and gain more revenue.

THREATS

Laws and Regulations in every Country – Airbnb services are available

across in about 192 countries. Each state and country have got its laws
and regulations to obey. The company should carefully rely on guests and
hosts so that they could meet the local laws.

Lawsuits – The Company is already facing some lawsuits and fines

across the world in places like New York, Florida, etc. The Barcelona
Authorities has fined the Airbnb Company with about 30,000 Euros for
violating the tourism laws. Even the New York Authorities has fined Airbnb
for running illegal hotels.

Competitors – There sees a lot of competitor for Airbnb like VRBO,

tripping, tripping.com, and many more. This can give a tough time for the
Airbnb Company.

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How to sign up for Airbnb.

 To start, open your web browser and go to Airbnb.com.

 In the top right corner, click “Sign up”.

 Then click “Sign up with Email”.

 Enter your email address, first name and last name.

 Then, choose a password for your account.

 Using the drop down menus, enter your birthday.

(You can choose to subscribe to Airbnb’s email newsletters if you
want to.)

 Click “Sign up”

 You will be prompted to the site’s user agreement, click “Accept”

to say you agree to Airbnb’s terms,

 You can add a few more details to your account by clicking “Get
started”.

 If you want to, you can add a profile picture to your account, you
can even import your Facebook profile picture. If you don’t care to
have a photo on your profile, click “Skip”.

 Next is you have to enter your contact number in case your future
host or guests needs to get ahold of you, enter your phone
number then click “Confirm”. You can click “Skip” if you’d rather
not have your phone number right now.

 The last step is to confirm your email address. Open your email
inbox and check an email from Airbnb. Open the email and click
the button that says “Confirm email”.

 And you’re all set! You can now explore Airbnb’s website.

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How to use Airbnb.

 Open your web browser and go to www.airbnb.com, then sign in to

your account.

 Click “Log in” located at the top right hand corner of the screen. You
can log in using your Facebook or google account or with your
email address and password, depending on how you created the
account when you first signed up.

Now you’re ready to look for properties to stay at on your next

vacation.

 Click in the text box labeled “Where” and type in the destination you
want to stay at.

 In the next text box labeled “When” input your desired check-in and
check-out dates.

 Under “Guests” use the drop down menu to select how many
people you need accommodations for.

You’ll be taken to a page with results matching your search criteria.

There may be an over whelming number of results so let’s see how
we can narrow the search a little to make it easier for you to find the
right place for you.

 Near the top of your screen, you’ll see a few options for search
filters. The first one is “Room type”. Select whether you like the
entire home, a private room or if you’re ok with a shared space.
Generally, renting the entire home will be more expensive and it
gets cheaper the more you’re willing to share space with other
guests.

 Now select the price range you’re looking to stay within. Using the
slider in the drop down window, indicate your minimum and
maximum amounts you’d like to pay per night then click “Apply”.

 The next search filter is “Instant book”. Enable the instant booking
filter if you don’t want to wait for the host to approve your booking
request and only want to consider properties you can book right
away.

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 If you have other specifications you’re looking to meet click on the
“More filters” tab. Here you’ll find more filters like number of
bedrooms, beds and washroom. You can also choose to filter your
results so you only see properties managed by Super Hosts who
are deemed to give better service, or filter by available amenities,
facilities and more.

 When you’re done making your filter selections, click “See Homes”.

 Browse through your filtered search results and look through a

property that interests you. Scroll down through their list of results
or check out the map on the right side of the page to choose a
property based on its location.

 Once you’ve found what you property you like, you can now start
the process of booking your stay at the property. On the right side
of the Listing details, confirm your check-in and check-out dates, a
number of guests and click “Book” or “Request a book” if the
property you’re interested in does not allow instant booking.

 Next, you can choose to add a note to the host if you like. Tell them
about yourself, who’s coming with you and the purpose of your trip.

 Review the host house rules, then click “Next”.

 Enter billing information, select the country you live in and choose
your payment type.

 Let’s assume you want to pay using your Credit Card. Enter your
credit card information, name and postal code. Finally, click confirm
and proceed with the payment.

 Once your booking is confirmed, you will receive an email from

Airbnb confirming your booking is all good to go.

 Click “Trips” at the top of the screen to see the list of your Airbnb
bookings.

 Click “View Itinerary” to view the details of your stay.

 You can now also find fun experiences available for booking on
Airbnb like city tours, wine tastings, horseback riding and more. To
browse experiences, select the date that you’re travelling to and a
number of people you want to include, then click “Experiences”.

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 Narrow down the result by selecting the category of experience
you’re looking for. There are plenty of categories to choose from.

 Look through the results and click on the experience that interest to
read more about it. If you’re interested in making a reservation, click
“See dates”

 View the list of dates available then click “Choose date” beside the
one that works for you.

 Review the guest requirements then click “Next”.

 You can add as many guests you like to bring with you by clicking
the “plus sign (+)” beside “Another guest” then enter their first and
last name and email address.

 Once you’re done adding people, click “Next”.

 On the next page, select your country and enter your payment
information.

 When you’re all done, click “Confirm booking”. You’ll receive an

email from Airbnb to confirm you booking.

 If you like to communicate with the host on Airbnb, you can send
them a message. When you have a listing open you have questions
about, scroll down to the bottom of the “About this listing” section,
then click “Contact host”. Enter your check in and check out dates
and number of guests.

 Click in the text box below and type in what you’d like to say or ask.
When you’re done, click “Send message”.

 You can check your message by clicking “messages” at the top

right hand of your screen. You’ll be notified once someone send
you a message or when someone responds to a message you sent
them.

 When you’re finished using Airbnb, you can log out of your account.
To do so, click on your profile picture in the top right hand corner,
then click “Log out”.

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References:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235709
https://blog.atairbnb.com/belong-anywhere/
https://craft.co/airbnb
https://craft.co/airbnb
https://www.airbnb.com/how-it-works
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/112414/airbnb-brings-
sharing-economy-hotels.asp
https://lattice.com/library/how-defining-values-and-culture-helped-airbnb-
achie
https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-of-airbnb/
http://mission-statement.com/airbnb/

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