Meeting fellow Host Advisory Board members and Airbnb team

[Felicity11]

I started my Airbnb listing 12 years ago as a mother who wanted to start a business that would work around the needs of my family and earn an income. Today, through hosting, I run a business that has not only met my financial needs, but has led me to meet guests from all over the world, and given me the opportunity to share my learnings with other hosts. I now share what I have learned in running my business with the teams at Airbnb—and I feel heard.

When I was asked to join the Host Advisory Board in 2021, I really did not know what to expect. I knew that I would be responsible for bringing the voice of the community to the Airbnb team but how would we do this, and would it make a difference? I find it fascinating that there are 23 hosts from around the world, who did not know each other, and yet we all share similar values and partner well together to bring a broad range of views to represent the wider host community.  

Together we have met many people from the Airbnb team and have the opportunity to share insights from our communities via Zoom. Although Zoom is a wonderful tool to meet virtually, there is nothing like meeting fellow hosts in real life, having a laugh, or perhaps a cup of tea and getting to know more about that person. 

 

For me, it was therefore quite surreal to walk into the Airbnb office in San Francisco on 9th September,2024 for the host week event. Although the city felt foreign and unfamiliar to us, the moment we walked in that door and saw the familiar faces of other Host Advisory Board members and the people we’ve worked with over the years, all thoughts of a foreign and unfamiliar city just melted away. I felt at home.  

One of the things I loved about our time at the Airbnb office was not only getting to meet the Airbnb teams but also having the opportunity to pick up the conversations and discuss them in person. It is an incredible feeling to stand face-to-face with people who design or build the products I use on a daily basis. We talked about what I love most about the products and suggestions for improvements, along with some of  the challenges of working on such a huge platform. Our virtual meetings now feel quite different since meeting in person. 

Overall, I left San Francisco feeling that Airbnb is not just a platform that matches guests and listings. It is a huge global community of hosts around the world that share a genuine desire to welcome guests. And there is a team behind the hosts that makes us feel heard.   

Thank you, Airbnb for welcoming and looking after us!