Airbnb is growing it's New York office. This slide deck takes you through what I would do as City Manager of the NYC office in my first 100 days. I'm passionate about Airbnb and what to help them continue to grow in NYC. So please spread the word!

1. GROW AIRBNB IN NYC
A 100 day plan on what I would do as City Manager of Airbnb NYC
By Justin Reitman
GrowAirbnbinNYC.com

2. DEFINE THE STRATEGY
• To
grow the NYC market, Airbnb must grow the SUPPLY
• Why?
1. ‘In most cities [we] are supply constrained‘
-Brian Chesky Pandomonthly (2:13:20)
2. Tourism & visitors to NYC grows 5% yoy on average
International visitor growth averages 10% yoy
-nycgo.com/articles/nyc-statistics-page

3. STRATEGY TO GROW SUPPLY
Supply will grow when four requirements are met
1. Clarification on best practices
2. Open channels of communication
3. Positive repeatable experiences
4. Opportunities beyond the current market

4. 100 DAYS OF EXECUTION
Clarity +
Communication
Enhance
Experiences
Grow Market
Opportunity
0 - 30
31 - 60
61 - 100

5. 0-30: CLARITY + COMMUNICATION
• Clarifying
the legality of Airbnb and best practices are key
to keeping a strong user base and growing that base
• Why?
•
Uber overcame similar obstacles in NYC
‘Our goal was to grow Uber within the confines of the law. It
allowed us to solidify the supply side [drivers] so that we could meet
the demand. This was paramount because in the beginning drivers
were concerned with the legality in New York‘
-Andrew Chapin (Head of Operations Uber NYC 2011-2012)

6. 0-30: CLARITY + COMMUNICATION
•
Create guides for best practices
•
Execution:
1. Engage all stakeholders to understand concerns local concerns
•
Stay and meet with New York hosts
•
Host guests; meet with neighbors, landlords, supers and policy makers
2. Work with the Policy Team to develop a best practices guide
•
Initial focus ‘How to operate within the bounds of the law’
•
Goal: Ease any friction to on-boarding a new host and limit the number of
current hosts that leave the platform
•
Grow best practices guide around wiki model (1) Alerting neighbors and
stakeholders, (2) Logistics for having guests*
*Some of this is being captured in Groups but its not public to ‘new hosts’

7. 0-30: CLARITY + COMMUNICATION
•
Improve communication with stakeholders
•
Execution:
•
Create @Airbnb_NY: A direct line for hosts, guests, other stakeholders to
communicate more effectively with Airbnb in NYC
•
Bring on another member or expanding the community manager role
•
Establish regular meetups that engage stakeholders beyond the “host meetups”
•
The first meetup is scheduled for November 14th at Alley NYC. Panel will discuss best
practices of the shareable economy in NYC and how to work with the City. Panelists include
Justin Ginsburgh GM NYC Bike Share, Josh Mohrer GM Uber NYC

8. 31-60: ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCES
•
“We [Airbnb] are a hospitality company at the end of the day.”
Brian Chesky (Techcrunch TV 6:06 10/7/13)
•
Airbnb must grow the user experience beyond booking to
become a more robust hospitality company
•
Why?
•
Positive repeatable experiences bring users back and helps ensure a
great experience for first time users

9. 31-60: ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCES
•
Air-lounge: local places where travelers can relax and connect with
other travelers*
•
Execution:
•
Select local coffee shops, pubs and cafés to be designated Air-lounges
•
Test Air-lounges in three neighborhoods (two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn)
•
Goal: Launch 10 Air-lounges by day 60. If validated, establish at least one Airlounge in each of the 52 neighborhoods by the end of 2014
•
Air-lounges reduce the burden on logistics for the host; provide meeting places for
other travelers to meet and share experiences; grow exposure for local businesses
*Air-lounges have been experimented with in San Francisco. A continued roll out to NYC is
important to reducing any friction to hosting guests and connecting travelers.

10. 31-60: ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCES
•
Host Tours: allow hosts to share their city to more guests and beyond
the confines of their home
•
Execution:
•
Connect hosts with guests staying in the neighborhood to give local walking tours
•
Use data from Airbnb Groups to create repeatable walking tours
•
Test Host Tours in three neighborhoods (two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn)
•
Tours allow hosts to expand their entrepreneurial offerings beyond the home

11. EVALUATION
Guides for best practices
Air-lounge
•
Does host retention stabilize after
introduction
•
How many guides beyond the initial
three are created by the community
•
•
@Airbnb_NY
What percentage of NYC guests and
hosts engage with the channel
Are hosts and guest utilizing the
establishments similar to San Francisco
Are local businesses experiencing
increased foot traffic and revenue
Host Tours
Are hosts stepping up to be tour
guides or do we have to bring on
additional staff
•
•
Has @Airbnb_NY identified problems
on the local level that can be mitigated
easily
•
•
Which tours are the most popular

12. 61-100: AIRBNB ENTERPRISE
•
Airbnb’s focus has been on the experience of the vacationer, but they should
expand to accommodate the business traveler in certain markets
•
Why Expand to Enterprise?
•
Total travel and tourism industry is roughly $2 Trillion
-World Travel Tourism Council
•
Global business travel is expected to exceed $1 Trillion this year, $273 Billion in the
United States alone
-Global Business Travel Association
•
It’s in Airbnb’s DNA!
•
Airbnb started out at an alternative accommodation at a design conference 2007 connecting
business travelers in San Francisco

13. 61-100: AIRBNB ENTERPRISE
•
Offer the experiences business travelers need to be productive
•
Execution:
•
Target small and local businesses, conferences, consultants
•
Establish Enterprise certified hosts: have wifi, access to cleaners, etc
•
Leverage sharable economy companies to complete the experience for the traveler
•
•
•
Transportation: Uber and ZipCar
Productive meeting space: Co-workings spaces provide desks and meeting
rooms (Alley NYC, Green Spaces, Grind, New Work City, We Work, etc)
Expand into the longer term stay market - corporate apartments

14. RECAP: 100 DAYS OF EXECUTION
Clarity +
Communication
Enhance
Experiences
Grow Market
Opportunity
0 - 30
31 - 60
61 - 100
Guides for Best Practice
Launch @Airbnb_NY
Expand Meetups ✓
Air-lounges
Host Tours
Airbnb Enterprise