How we’re giving hosts a seat at the table

[Airbnb]

 

You may have seen a letter from our CEO Brian Chesky this week with some important announcements for our community. In case you missed it, we’re launching a formal program to give hosts a seat at the table, and an opportunity to take part in our company’s success.

It’s made up of two equally important parts:

• Airbnb Host Advisory Board: A diverse group of hosts on Airbnb who meet regularly with Airbnb executives to represent the host community's voice and make sure that hosts’ ideas are heard
• Airbnb Host Endowment: A fund that is intended to provide support to our host community now and in the future, which we expect will be initially funded with 9.2 million shares of Airbnb stock 

You can read much more about the programs here.

We’re looking forward to introducing the Advisory Board before the end of the year.

[Mary60]

yes agreed, I also rent in Italy.  It seems to me that any Advisory Board should have subgroups that could better handle the diversity of the community.

[Diane678]

I would like information on Airbnb's IPO that will be going public soon. How do I find that information? Thanks, Diane

[Katie]

Hi @Diane678, right now we’re unable to talk about a potential public offering due to SEC regulations.

As soon as we are able to we will share more 😊

[Jeffrey434]

@Diane678 here's a hint and indicator of how IPO will go. Read through the comments of this post and observe how Airbnb is screwing over the hosts who helped build the platform. I, for one, am pulling all of my listings after 10+ years of being a host. There are plenty of other options and more will continue to pop up. 

[BenkaandKeith0]

Good to know we are not the only ones. After 6 years we are ashamed to be associated with Airbnb.  They lost all our respect.

[Super47]

@Diane678

Airbnb announced on August 19th that it has  confidentially submitted a draft registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission for the IPO. It's been widely reported that the company is hoping to raise $3 billion.

Earlier this week, Airbnb's board  approved a 2-for-1 private stock split. The stock split, which came nto effect on Tuesday, would make it easier and more affordable for small retail and mom-and-pop investors to participate in the IPO because of the lower cost of each share. For those venture capitalists that already own shares, the value of each one will climb 10.4 percent after the split. Before the split, the shares were valued at $69.76 each as of Sept. 30, and after the split, common shares were valued at $34.88 apiece. 

The company is planning to list on NASDAQ (AIRB), likely in December. It's widely expected that the public S-1 filing will be released (having been updated with the Q3 results) sometime next week, probably in the days following the US election. 

[Sharon1014]

@Diane678 

You'll be able to see the S-1 filings here https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html when released, just enter Airbnb into the search engine

You can also monitor the major MSM finance outlets

https://finance.yahoo.com/company/airbnb?h=eyJlIjoiYWlyYm5iIiwibiI6IkFpcmJuYiJ9&.tsrc=fin-srch

https://www.cnbc.com/search/?query=airbnb&qsearchterm=airbnb

https://www.bloomberg.com/search?query=airbnb

https://www.reuters.com/search/news?blob=airbnb

[Lawrene0]

I think a host advisory board would align with what you are saying, @Francesco1366 . You say Airbnb should choose better for our interests. Helping the company choose better for hosts' interests would be the job of a host advisory board. It looks like a positive step. I really like it.

[Francesco1366]

I say that if they were chosen for "the belly" of the community it would be not useful, smoke in eyes. Indeed against our interest as in the example I gave you. Years ago, I saw a post about a host attending a board of directors. I think he had the same value as a chair and if indeed he had given credit in following "the belly" of the community, he would not have served our interests at all. @Lawrene0 

[Jeffrey434]

If Airbnb could be trusted, yes, a great idea. Without follow through and integrity it's just words.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

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@Jeffrey434 wrote:

If Airbnb could be trusted, yes, a great idea. Without follow through and integrity it's just words.

---

An observation and point well made.

@Jeffrey434 

[Inna22]

I never heard of the host leadership program till just now and I guess therefor never had a chance to be considered for this. My local FB group has completely different goals from mine. It is also very cliquey and disorganized. For a city like Chicago we did not even have enough people to go to a meeting when new very strict rules were being implemented by the city to control Airbnbs. If the organizer of that group is going to be part of this, he is certainly not representing my voice. Having said that, I am sure it is impossible to make everyone happy.

[Francesco1366]

There was Host voice. More democratic and transparent. @Inna22. 

[Ria16]

Morena @Airbnb 

it looks a well put together package and there’s certainly some wonderful people I would happily nominate around the globe . I could easily name ten. 
I took a quick look at the application and I see it’s a volunteer position .  That’s a huge ask even just to monitor a Facebook page . Would that page be just for ideas and not replace the help desk?  
Couldn’t you sweeten the deal with at least a few shares thrown in. These helpful hosts absolutely deserve it. 
Nga mihi nui

[Katie]

Hi @Ria16, thanks for your feedback and great to hear you're pleased to see this. 

If you're looking for more info on how the Host Leader groups work then take a look here. To confirm, they are not intended to replace the Help Centre or Support. 

I just wanted to highlight my response above too, to clarify that the Board members will be made up of a combination of members of our Host Leaders program and active hosts here in our Community Center. 

I hope this helps but please do let me know if you have more questions 😊