What It Does: Airbnb provides various services, which include lodging, hospitality, and homestays, to its customers. The company acts as a middleman between the house owner and the guest and earns a commission per booking.
Mission: Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere.
Size and Presence: Airbnb has hundreds of employees across its offices in Canada. Digitally, Airbnb has hundreds of thousands of listings on a Canadian website. Some of its top markets in Canada include Ontario, Canmore, Quebec, Tofino, Montreal, Vancouver, etc.
Best Known For: Airbnb is best known for revolutionizing the hospitality industry, and it provides a nice alternative for people who can't get a hotel to lodge in. It's widely recognized as one of the best and most successful startups since its inception.
The Good Bits: The work is exciting, rewarding, and flexible. Airbnb employees enjoy attractive work incentives. The company’s culture is healthy. Airbnb offers great career prospects for its freshers and interns.
The Not-So-Good Bits: The pay can be better. The job comes with a high level of stress.
In early 2008, a group of people founded Airbed & Breakfast as a joint venture. The company was established to provide short-term lodging via its website for guests who could not book a hotel room. The website launched in August of that year. The following year, the website had 2,500 listings and 10,000 users. The website's name, which was officially announced as airbed&breakfast.com, was shortened to airbnb.com. The company won an award at the SXSW Interactive Awards for Mobile, which took place in 2011. Two years later, the company raised $112 million (CA$ 149.5 million) in financing.
Also, in 2011, Airbnb established its first international office in London. The following year, the company opened several offices in Europe and one in Brazil. Later that year, the company opened an office in Australia and introduced a travel guide named "Neighbourhoods." Towards the end of 2012, Airbnb opened an office in Singapore. In 2014, the company received an investment worth $450 million (CA$ 600.2 million) from TGI Capital. In 2015, the company opened an office in China. In mid-2017, Airbnb introduced Airbnbmag, a publication it co-produced with Hearst Communications. In 2022, Airbnb halted its business operations in Russia and Belarus. Airbnb came to Canada in 2009.
Airbnb is a model employer, and its hospitality spirit isn't just directed at its customers; it reflects on its workforce as well. Its unique culture is built on core values, namely:
The company is intentional about creating an inclusive environment where its employees, including freshers and interns, can feel at home and give their best.
Its workforce is made up of diverse sexuality, races, gender, socioeconomic backgrounds, political affiliations, religions, etc. The employees treat each other with respect. Airbnb has a relaxed policy on its dress code. Employees can wear what they want as long as they appear smart and presentable.
The company has provided several training, development, and career advancement opportunities through Airbnb University for its interns and new graduates. Its graduate programme targets eager freshers who want to make an impact in the organization. These freshers are tasked with real, challenging projects that will build their expertise and experience. Its internship programme is a 12-week structured learning experience that will entail contributions to real tasks and the development of new features for the company. Airterns are guided along the way with proper support and mentorship.
The hiring process ranges from 2-5 weeks, and it entails the following;
Airbnb pays its freshers an average annual salary of CA$ 25,000.
Airbnb partners with PeaceGeeks, a nonprofit organisation based in Vancouver to support refugees, immigrants, and minority communities in Canada.
Studies have shown that Airbnb is partly responsible for the hike in rent and house prices.