Airbnb: The Sharing Economy Poster Child
A deep dive into one of the world's leading online travel agencies
Hi, fellow investors!
Welcome back to another deep dive on a wonderful company. This time, we’re analyzing Airbnb, an industry leading online marketplace for accommodations.
Would you rent out a room in your home to a complete stranger in exchange for some cash? Or, on the flip side, would you choose to stay in a stranger’s home instead of a hotel? While it might sound like the initial plot for a horror movie, Airbnb sprouted from this idea. Today, over 5 million hosts rent out their properties through Airbnb, with more than 1.5 billion guests having used the platform over the platform’s lifetime.
Table of Contents
1. History
1.1 The Air Mattress
1.2 Presidential Cereal
1.3 Growing Up
2. Contemporary Business
2.1 Airbnb’s Business Model
2.2 The Essential Numbers
2.3 A Travel Agency’s Moat
2.4 Into the Future
3. Management
3.1 Brian Chesky
3.2 Ownership and Compensation
3.2 Capital Allocation