“I can’t make products just for 41-year-old tech founders”: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is taking it back to basics

Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, was previously on the show in 2021. Back then, Airbnb was betting big on long-term stays for remote work amid the pandemic, and Chesky had just restructured the company to a more functional organization, getting rid of the divisions it had before.

Now, the pandemic is ending, Airbnb has itself adopted a hybrid policy, Chesky’s back in the office several days a week, and they’re two years into that new structure. So that’s pure Decoder bait. I wanted to ask Chesky how that restructure is going. Has it really made the company more agile and cohesive like he hoped? Has the bet on working from anywhere paid off?

We also talked about Airbnb’s 2023 Summer release, which includes an Airbnb Rooms feature, encouraging its users to rent rooms in hosts’ homes. Brian said that feature is part of an effort to return the company back to its roots, and we talked a lot about why he feels that’s important. We also talked about Airbnb’s partnership with Jony Ive and the lessons he’s taken from Apple.

Okay, Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb. Here we go.

Full transcript coming soon.