It may be a marketing move but for those interested in how the other half lives, one can currently book a room in the San Francisco home of Airbnb (ABNB) CEO Brian Chesky.
"A thoughtfully designed suite featuring personal photos and artifacts from the early days of Airbnb," reads the listing description of a room in a house in the historic Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. "This light-filled corner bedroom has North and West-facing windows and a panoramic view of the Castro neighborhood."
Traditionally an artistic and LGBTQ hub, the Castro District is currently one of the most expensive areas of San Francisco -- an average home sold for $1.33 million in October.
The price for the room rental is set for $0 but all the dates Chesky set aside were immediately booked into March 2023 as soon as the offer dropped. Some news outlets are reporting that Chesky and Airbnb are already working to add more dates.
The Offer to Chat With Chesky is Selling Out Fast
The entire promotion is meant to both encourage hosts to rent out rooms rather than only entire spaces and hearken back to those nostalgic early days of Airbnb. As the founder, Chesky first got the idea for the short-term rental platform after renting out some mattresses at his place to friends.
"Back in the day, my roommate Joe and I blew up some air mattresses and welcomed three guests -- Michael, Kat, and Amol," Chesky says in the listing description. "This time, I've upgraded from airbeds to a guest suite in my home."
But another reason for the promotion is to break certain stereotypes about San Francisco crime and the city being an unsafe place to host. The offer coincides with the launch of a new service called Airbnb Setup in which new hosts can be matched with "superhosts" for guidance on how to get set up.
AirBnB
A Long Road From Renting Out Mattresses
In the 14 years that passed since its founding out of San Francisco in 2008, Airbnb has been through major changes.
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia (the same Joe from Chesky's listing description) recently left his full-time operating role at the company to be an advisor while the platform has been facing criticism over its role in housing problems in cities like San Francisco -- in particular, investors who buy out homes to use them for hosting and in doing so push out those looking to buy a single primary home.
Company shares are down more than 41% since the start of 2022.
Rising crime in San Francisco has also made those who cannot rent out an entire property more apprehensive about renting out a room in the house they live in. Chesky's promotion also coincides with the launch of Aircover, which promises stronger screening for guests (everyone booking a stay will need to provide proof of identity, while suspicious bookings will be automatically canceled).
And while Chesky's offer to stay in his house looks like a marketing stunt meant to promote Airbnb as a great platform to use, there was no shortage of people curious to see what his San Francisco home is like.
"I live here so I'll be here but I'm going to put this room on Airbnb," Chesky said in the video. "If you come to San Francisco and you need a place to stay, I would love to host you."
