I think Pixar's done an amazing job integrating art and science. They really get this idea that art and engineering work side by side.
— Joe Gebbia
To me, 'design thinking' is another way of saying empathize with the customer. It's consideration for the person you're designing for.
We expect Seoul to be one of our most important markets not only in Asia but around the world.
The hotel industry is a very modern invention - it only really started to become branded in the 1950s.
Design can overcome our most deeply rooted stranger-danger bias.
We didn't invent anything new. Hospitality has been around forever.
There's no reason any company should be limited by its physical environment.
What we're doing with Airbnb feels like the nexus of everything that is right. We're helping people be more resourceful with the space they already have, and we're connecting people around the world.
We started Airbnb because, like many across the U.S. and in New York, we were struggling to pay our rent and decided to open up our living room to fellow artists coming to town for a design conference. Sharing our apartment allowed us to stay in our home and start our company.
Scheduled shipping is one of many inventions that has made New York a global capital of innovation and creativity - from Willis Carrier's invention of air conditioning in Buffalo and George Eastman's breakthrough film technology in Rochester to the rise of hip-hop in the South Bronx and the world's first cell phone call in Midtown Manhattan.
I'll never forget my first Art Basel.
While the Cold War had us questioning our next-door neighbors, big brands emerged to capture our trust. We became consumers.
Ultimately, the power of the Airbnb platform is that it motivates guests to blend into communities, belong anywhere, and live like locals.
Dog-fooding is using your own products so that you understand from inside out what it is you're providing the customers. It's another way to gain insights and to gain intelligence. You use it yourself; you eat your own dog food. Every time we do that, we discover something that we can improve.
Staying at Airbnb listings gives me the opportunity to truly understand and experience the local culture of the countries I visit.
Airbnb has grown thanks to our hosts creating memorable experiences and inspiring their guests to be hosts in their hometowns.
In the post-war United States, you had this race to the suburbs. Cities shrank, the suburbs got bigger - and the notion of community changed drastically. You went from all being very close together to all being spaced apart and slightly suspicious of one another.
We're a community-driven brand, but at the same time, we want every host in every home to recognize that they're all individuals, and to use Airbnb as an expression of their individuality.
We have seen things in the twentieth century like the ATM machine, the VCR, and even the car. The electric car was invented in 1920, and here we, 100 years later, it is only now becoming an actual thing. So it doesn't surprise me that new ideas are met with a lot of questions.
I've experienced firsthand the disconnect between furniture, their environments, and the way people work.
What if cities embraced a culture of sharing? I see a future of shared cities that bring us community and connection instead of isolation and separation.
By helping New Yorkers turn their greatest expense - their home - into an asset, Airbnb is a vehicle that artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators can use to earn extra money to pursue their passion.
As with any new and innovative industry, entrenched interests - particularly the hotel industry - have attempted to squash the home-sharing movement.
To be truly empathetic, we have to acknowledge that we're all human, we're all flawed, and that life can be difficult.
After World War II, communities and the trust they fostered began to erode in the United States. We moved away from dense city centers to fenced in suburban lots separated by broad highways.
Digital communication is completely different from in-person, face-to-face conversations. One will give you surface insights, and the other really gives you depth.
What I've realized is that the joy of meeting and greeting people from all around the world is universal.
Airbnb was born out of necessarity. Our rent went up. It was born out of a problem.
At Airbnb, we're trying to build a culture that supports details, celebrates them, and gives our teams creative license to pursue them.
When trust works out right, it can be absolutely magical.
Any time there is a new idea, it can take some time for policy to catch up to it.
We do believe in an inside-out culture. If we hold our hosts and guests to an expectation of acceptance and belonging, it has to start within our company. Otherwise, how on earth do we have the credibility to hold them accountable if we're not doing it to ourselves?
In art school, you learn that design is much more than the look and feel of something - it's the whole experience.
In New York, ingenuity goes hand-in-hand with the hustle to survive.
Given Miami's unique role in Airbnb's roots, I'm particularly proud of how South Floridians have embraced home sharing as an opportunity to earn supplemental income and catalyze economic development in their communities.
Sympathy relies on a common experience. If you're clumsy, you might have sympathy for others who tend to bump into things. Empathy, on the other hand, is the ability to understand another person's feelings even if you've never experienced them yourself.
From natural disasters to the refugee crises, the impact we can have as individuals might seem limited. But as many of our hosts know, sharing your home for even a few nights can make a tremendous difference in someone's life.
