Do you know what AirBnb is? Many people do not know that the largest hotel company in the world does not have a single room or that it started when its founders decided to rent three air beds with breakfast included (AirBnB = Air Bed and Breakfast)
In 2007, two friends and fellow students who could barely pay the rent on the building where they lived in San Francisco, California, had a "eureka" moment that would transform their lives. To Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, two young industrial designers from the Rhode Island School of Design, it occurred to them to buy three air mattresses and rent the makeshift beds to people who wanted to spend one or a few nights in their apartment.
Without imagining them, that simple idea ignited a spark of ingenuity that led in a very short time to the largest hotel company in the world: AirBnb. The incorporation of Nathan Blecharczyk, a young computer engineer from Harvard, transformed the embryonic company into a robust computing platform capable of currently handling more than 2 million lodging units ready to accommodate over 60 million guests in more than 34,000 cities. of the orb
In succinct terms, AirBnb's economic model aims to bring together non-traditional lodging providers with a community of guests from the most varied latitudes. Thus, anyone who has vacant rooms in their property - or the entire property - will be able to register them in the global AirBnb system and rent them to people looking for alternative accommodation to hotels.
To opt for the qualification of host, the candidate must fill out the form for hosts at www.AirBnb.com, which includes the following requirements:
- Profile of the property and the spaces that can be leased. It must include the description, photographs, furniture and equipment available, the price stipulated by the host and the available amenities such as swimming pool, gym, concierge service, private parking and parking spaces; places of interest in the town.
- Service operating standards including registration and withdrawal hours; availability dates of the property; number of people accommodated; scope of services.
- Reading and acceptance of the legal requirements that affect the locality where the property is located.
- The publication of the listing (advertisement) of the business on Airbnb is free. AirBnb charges 3% commission on each completed reservation.
Once the form for hosts is completed, the offer will be ready for publication on the AirBnb website and it is time for hosts to psychologically prepare to receive guests. The procedure for capturing and registering guests includes the following steps:
- The prospect visits the site airbnb.com and is interested in a lodging.
- Contact the host by email or by phone for details and to book.
- AirBnb takes care of charging the guest in advance so the host does not have to handle money.
- The host confirms the reservation and prepares to greet the guest upon arrival.
- Upon receiving the guest, the host will show him the leased premises and will talk about the rules of use and coexistence to follow during his stay in the property.
- AirBnb pays the host via Paypal, direct deposit, or wire transfer, within 24 hours of being charged.
It is interesting to note that AirBnb has implemented mechanisms to protect the physical integrity of guests and the host's premises. Indeed, AirBnb offers the following formulas:
- Coverage of up to one million dollars against theft and accidental damage to the premises of the host, at no additional cost.
- Insurance to protect guests against personal injury or material loss occurring on the premises, free of charge.
AirBnb's business model is built on trust. When a host places a property for lease, Airbnb assumes that the information presented and offered to the public is true. On the other hand, when the host contacts the potential guest for the first time, the host must ask the pertinent questions so that, intuitively, he can assume that the information provided by the potential guest is truthful.
However, when it comes to candidates from countries where background screening is possible, AirBnb screens prospects and rejects them if they have committed serious crimes involving violence, sexual offenses and prostitution, fraud, aggravated theft, property damage, third party property and invasion of privacy.
The success of AirBnb is attributable to the stupendous ability of its founders to understand the philosophy of life that moves the new generations in the Western world, and to know how to adapt to it. The members of the world community who have accepted the AirBnb business forms seek additional elements to the price, different from those offered by the classic hotel industry: authenticity, familiarity, simplicity and closeness to the cultural values of the community.
I hope with these lines that I have stimulated readers who have idle real estate capacity to place it on AirBnb; travelers who want to live a new experience while saving money, to approach AirBnb.com; and young millennials and other innovators to be inspired by the brief history of AirBnb to invent disruptive innovations that contribute to making life more enjoyable for humanity.
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