The Generalitat restricts tourist flats. what answer
With our history. We created Airbnb precisely to fight the skyrocketing price of hotels in San Francisco. Can you imagine who wins now if this offer is restricted?
And who loses?
Thousands of families who live better thanks to renting their flat for a few days.
Aren't they great funds too?
Our data shows that the average of those who rent their apartment with us does not earn more than 4,000 dollars a year. In New York we were almost banned, these citizens lost their income.
Without regulation, don't tourists end up replacing residents?
I'm all for regulation, but when it's abusive it hurts everyone. We invented Airbnb precisely because our rent had suddenly gone up... by 25%! And we had left salaried jobs to become unpaid entrepreneurs.
Was the problem the opportunity?
We didn't have money, but we had creativity, so we thought of creating an app for people who were coming to a convention in San Francisco and couldn't find a cheap hotel to rent them a room in our apartment for those days.
Were you already a programmer?
I learned to program at the age of 12 with my father's manuals and at the age of 14 I made my first million dollars selling my software on the internet. But Airbnb wasn't about making money; it was and is to gain experiences: those who came to rent the flat were interesting people: we made many friends.
Some Barcelona residents today feel that their prices are driving them out of their city.
The fault is not ours, but a housing crisis in many cities – from Barcelona to San Francisco – with complex causes that no serious study has included. That doesn't mean we don't want regulation.
Didn't you have encounters with Barcelona?
Perhaps at the beginning we reached a certain tension that ended up being political, but we reached an agreement in 2018 to share our data with the City Council and to also comply with its regulations.
What kind of data do they currently share with the city?
In more than 7,000 cities around the world, our software collects accommodation taxes directly and with all our data we comply and enforce the rules. And that's who hires annoying procedures and bureaucracy.
Now that he's a millionaire, is he still renting out his rooms?
We were three friends in an apartment and today we are a community of 4 million people, because connecting and sharing is as important as money. And that is why I continue to receive Airbnb guests in my home: I have already received more than 1,000 and in two weeks another family will arrive.
Don't the guests hallucinate when they see it?
They see photos, yes, and tie heads. But it's still fun to meet people like when I rented a room in my house in Palo Alto. And they loved finding out that I was from Airbnb. I know of marriages, businesses and groups of friends that have met this way and continue to use us together.
The quirkiest deal on Airbnb today?
Perhaps the bamboo tree houses in Indonesia, which are unique works of art; there is an Italian castle... Or those on remote islands.
The last house you chose?
I paid 40 euros on Airbnb a few days ago for a room in Riga and I became friends with the owner and we had a few drinks.
Did he finally know who you were?
You guessed it, yes. And then he took me on a bike ride around town with his friends - is there a better experience possible for $40 a day?
Is a bad experience possible?
We have 7 million listings and every year we kick out hundreds of thousands of owners because they get bad reviews from guests who post the 371 million reviews we currently publish. The user is our best quality controller.
What have you learned these years?
To plan: the time I spend planning is the time I spend best. If you know how to structure your life, you win it.
How is it done?
My wife and I dedicate one night a week to planning the next and every birthday to put on the agenda what we will do until the next one. The weather is beautiful.
Isn't the pleasure of losing him lost?
I have to anticipate it: when you plan a holiday you are already living it and, most importantly, sharing it.
Doesn't it tempt him to be spontaneous?
Even the best laid plans force you to be when they fail and you have to plan for them to fail.
