The CEO of Airbnb Inc. said he expects his business to stay resilient and anticipates continued demand for travel despite signs of turbulent economic times ahead.
In an interview with BNN Bloomberg’s Amber Kanwar on Thursday, Brian Chesky said people have a desire to get out of their houses, “no matter how the economy plays out.”
“I think that people still want to travel,” he said. “What they really want is … affordable ways to travel.”
That’s the thinking behind the company’s new Airbnb Rooms feature, which allows people to rent a single room in a home and share common spaces for a lower price.
While the volatile economic conditions have seen other technology companies do major layoffs in recent months, Chesky said he thinks his “lean” business is in a good position to weather the storm, after cutting back its operations earlier in the pandemic.
He said he also sees opportunities for emerging AI technologies to help his business become more productive -- for example, with helping to resolve customer service queries Airbnb receives from around the world.
To watch the full interview with Chesky, click on the video at the top of this article.
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