How the disruptive hospitality service achieved success
Founded in 2008, Airbnb is an online service that allows people to lease or rent short-term lodging. Since its inception, Airbnb has disrupted the hospitality industry and now boasts over 3,000,000 property listings in 65,000 cities and 191 countries.
At the heart of Airbnb’s success is collaborative consumption – the idea that consumers can both obtain and provide valuable resources or services. With such huge growth in such a short period of time, there is much we can learn from looking into the business model behind the success of Airbnb.
Solve a Problem
Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky gives this advice to entrepreneurs – “solve your own problem”. Airbnb, he says, came about from the idea “to turn the house we were renting in San Francisco into a bed-and-breakfast, because there was an international design conference going on, and all the hotels were sold out.” Chesky urges those trying to come up with a business idea to first think about a problem in their own lives that they would like to solve – the chances are that if you want a solution to this problem, others will too.
Be Open
Chesky recently tweeted, “If Airbnb could launch anything in 2017, what would it be?” and listened closely to the responses. His tweet provided valuable feedback and suggestions for his business. If you can keep an open mind and take onboard the feedback you receive, you will show you care what your customers think, and that you value their opinions.
The Personal Touch
Airbnb thrives on offering a personal approach in what can sometimes be an impersonal industry. Users have a personal connection with the guest/host which helps to garner trust and opens up the channels for easier communication. If your customers can see you and easily reach you, you can much more easily develop a personal connection that will hopefully grow to a long and prosperous business relationship.
While Airbnb is an industry-changing service, their business principles can easily be applied in any sector. If you would like help putting any of these ideas to work, contact ReachOut Business Solutions today. We are experts in helping foreign companies establish and grow their businesses in the U.S. market.
