Brian Chesky rents out his house on Airbnb
Billionaire Airbnb founder Brian Chesky lists a bedroom in his San Francisco home on his online homestay rental platform to prove to users that hosting isn’t risky or difficult.
Located in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, this Airbnb listed “corner bedroom full of light” features north and west-facing windows, an armchair, a desk, two closets and a queen-size bed mattress. And of course, the house comes with Chesky herself.
“I live here, so I’ll be here,” Chesky said in a video posted to the Airbnb website on Wednesday. In it, he can be seen walking through his home taking photos to list on Airbnb.
Chesky wants to prove that there shouldn’t be any barriers to listing an apartment on Airbnb for people who want to make a little extra money. “We know there are a few obstacles to finding your place on Airbnb. First, it can be difficult to get started. And secondly, you might be a little nervous when you have guests at home,” Chesky says in the video.
To allay those fears, Airbnb is launching the Airbnb setup this week, upgrading its Aircover with several new features that Chesky hopes will make hosting an apartment on its platform easier and safer.
“I did it 15 years ago, and I’m going to do it again,” Chesky said in the video, recalling the early days of Airbnb when he and co-founder Joe Gebbia first rented out their guest room with three airbeds on one floor. According to Chesky, Airbnb’s official name is a portmanteau of “air mattress” and “bed and breakfast.” Nostalgic memorabilia from Airbnb’s early days can be seen throughout the home, including the framed receipt for the very first airbed Chesky and Gebbia bought for the company.
“It’s a really nice bedroom,” Chesky said on Wednesday CBS morning, adding: “There’s a bit of Airbnb history. I’ll make you fresh cookies. You can come to the gym with me, we’ll go for a walk in the park. There’s a lot of fun things we’re going to do.”
New Airbnb updates
Launching this week, Airbnb’s new service, Airbnb Setup, allows new hosts to connect with “superhosts” in their area or with experienced Airbnb hosts who have high ratings on the platform to help them get started.
“They can walk you through the process,” Chesky said CNBCcompares the Airbnb setup to Apple’s Genius Bar, where new users get personalized guidance for free.
As part of the new updates, Airbnb is also updating its Aircover – the platform’s host protection guarantees – by installing a stricter guest verification process. Starting this spring, all users will be required to show ID if they want to rent a home, and suspicious reservations will be blocked to make it easier for hosts to let strangers into their homes.
“We have reservation screening technology that uses fairly advanced machine learning to ensure we can pick up signals from suspicious reservations to block what we think are parties. We have 24/7 support. So I feel pretty good about it,” Chesky said CNBC.
Chesky also triples Aircover’s damage protection up to $3 million. This comes on top of previous policy changes prohibiting parties and events in Airbnb rentals.
Users who want to stick with Chesky shouldn’t worry. Chesky has 180 positive reviews on his Airbnb dating back to 2015, and in his most recent online listing, he notes that there are surveillance cameras around the property, along with 24-hour security guards.
Airbnb was founded in 2008 and today has more than 4 million hosts worldwide. Brian Chesky has a net worth of $8 billion.
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