Airbnb CEO rents out his own room amid recession fears
Asher Notheis
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Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has rented out a room in his own home, a return to the days when he started the business over a decade ago.
Chesky stated that he is renting out space in his home in San Francisco, California, ahead of the launch of two services for Airbnb. The business was founded during a recession in the late 2000s and was able to attract people willing to rent out spaces in their homes in order to make some extra cash, Chesky explained on CNN.
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“15 years later, I thought, ‘you know, a recession is now looming, obviously, if not already in one,'” Chesky said. “Airbnb was born during a recession. Back then in 2008, many people were looking to make extra money, they turned to Airbnb, and we thought now’s a really good time to show people that if I can host, you can host too.”
Airbnb CEO opens room in his own home
The bed and breakfast business is launching two updates to their business in the near future, with the first being Airbnb Setup. The new service will allow people to open their own homes to the Airbnb business to learn from others who have already done so, Chesky explained.
The Airbnb CEO said he’s aware that people may be afraid to open their homes to strangers. To help resolve this problem, Airbnb will verify people’s identity in the business in the top 35 countries in the world, with the intent to expand verification across the globe by next spring.
Airbnb began in 2007 when Chesky and his roommate, fellow co-founder and website Chairman Joe Gebbia, hosted three people in their home and let them sleep on three air mattresses. The company launched as Airbed & Breakfast in 2008 and has since grown to over four million hosts across the world as of March of this year.
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There is a 100% chance the United States will be in a recession by October of next year, according to economic modeling released in October 2022 by Bloomberg. The new modeling marks a drastic increase from 65% for the same period of time in a previous version of the model.
The Washington Examiner has contacted Airbnb for comment.