Shared accommodations are currently a widespread norm in contrast to conventional hotel stays and bookings. The evolution of the hospitality industry owes its progress to the Airbnb Vacation Rental Company, which connects hosts with strangers interested in short-term rentals at a fee. The company’s strategy and innovative vision have resulted in a global corporation whose operations span thousands of cities. Operating worldwide allows the Airbnb Company a monopoly over shared-accommodation clients, and the company’s continued dominance is due to the effective use of machine learning and artificial intelligence technology on a massive scale.
Airbnb offers customers short-term in-housing accommodation through an online platform allowing people to house guests at a fee and for a short period. Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky founded it in 2007 as an income-generating idea to provide rent money (De León, 2022). The venture was initially test-trialed at a local designer conference in San Francisco; however, it required an online platform to connect home-sharing users, an aspect that the third founding member of the team, Nathan Blecharczyk, helped to execute (De León, 2022). Key events, such as the Democratic National Convention and the US election in 2008, helped catapult the company’s brand through strategic marketing that established it as a globally profitable company (Aydin, 2019). The company has diversified its online user experience and become a publicly traded entity, revolutionizing the hotel and accommodation sector.
San Francisco was the company’s inception, and Denver its first successful launch, and since then, Airbnb has grown into a global structure. The company had approximately 13 million listings in 2021, with successive high markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America (Aydin, 2019). Moreover, the firm operates in over 191 countries, including roughly 34000 cities (De León, 2022). Global operations have benefited the company’s profit margin, with gross revenues of $23 billion attributed to the North American region and $16.5 billion to Europe in the last year (Aydin, 2019). Additionally, the company’s market share has allowed it to dictate market prices for accommodation units and offer more value to its clients. The company’s additional revenue to local communities through tourism has enabled it to maintain a competitive advantage.
Airbnb strives to provide a user-friendly experience through its online platform and has invested in global technology to ensure the same. The company utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence to optimize searches, minimize fraud, and ensure its clients get accurate pricing suggestions (Airbnb, 2019). Furthermore, algorithms within the platform synthesize reviews, images, and diversity in accommodation to provide the best experience on a global scale. The company is currently assessing the integration of natural language processing (NLP) technology to maintain relevancy in their reviews and better their clients’ experiences (Airbnb, 2019). An increased interest in innovative technology devices has simultaneously created a consistent effort in maintaining, improving, and creating applications that make it safe and reliable to find a home-sharing space.
Achieving a networked hospitality system requires using information and applications concurrent with the available technology. Airbnb has successfully adopted technological innovations, especially internet communication, as an effective strategy to connect customers with prospective clients. The internet offers a global interconnection of hardware such as smartphones, laptops, computers, and tablets that support an accommodation-sharing company. Thus, the company has invested heavily in data scientists, computer scientists, graphics designers, and diverse IT experts to boost its online security and create a competitive advantage in the market.
Due to the large amount of data the company handles, Airbnb moved its cloud computing services to Amazon Web Services. Through 200 Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, the company handles its storage and computing functions, thus creating an effective decision-making tool (Airbnb, 2019). Big data tools such as Airpal, Presto, and Druid can assess, process, or store user data such as photos and reviews (Airbnb, 2019). Therefore, executives and managers can aptly gauge the number of clients they have and make strategic decisions about the distribution of resources. Additionally, these platforms and applications allow hosts to report criminals or faulty clients, which improves their clients’ overall experience by eliminating such users from the site.
Operating as a global entity has created new challenges for the Airbnb Vacation Rental Company ranging from regulatory and policy oversight to residential noise increase. Cities such as New York limit short-term rentals, whereas countries such as Ireland, have passed regulations limiting their proliferation (De León, 2022). These steps have significantly impacted revenue growth and reduced the company’s competitive edge in the regions. Additionally, residents have expressed an increase in noisy transient traffic in their neighborhoods due to shared accommodations established by the firm. Opponents of the sharing system argue that landlords who turn permanent residents into short-term stays often end up increasing the rent for the locals, which adversely impacts the economy. These challenges have impacted the perception and social standing of the company.
Improving the company’s social standing, especially with middle-income families, is essential since they are primarily the occupants of residential areas with shared housing units. In 2022, Chesky engaged in a nationwide tour of American Airbnb stays to improve the stay for clients globally (De León, 2022). Furthermore, the company needs to ensure the profits are primarily in the host’s pockets to minimize any arguments for a rent increase or gentrification. Whereas some argue that the firm compromises the social fabric of local communities, sharing images of clients contributing to the local culture will actively combat the negative reviews. Social campaigns that communicate the safety and advantage of Airbnb stays over conventional hotels must influence regulatory policy and oversight. These strategies will positively affect the company’s standing economically and socially and ensure that they operate within the law.
In conclusion, the Airbnb Company’s IT strategy has allowed it to grow and establish its operations worldwide. The use of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the internet has seen the company’s shared-housing idea grow to 34000 cities and over 191 countries. In turn, the skill set and resources have improved to maintain a competitive edge in the market. Despite regulatory and policy challenges, the company continues to profit and provide affordable housing to its clients globally.
References
Airbnb. (2019). Sharing more about the technology that Powers Airbnb. Airbnb Newsroom. Web.
Aydin, R. (2019). How 3 guys turned renting air mattresses in their apartment into a $31 billion company, Airbnb. Business Insider. Web.
De León, R. (2022). Airbnb survived Covid, but the crisis mode in “Sharing” economy stays. CNBC. Web.