“When times are tough it’s easy to convince ourselves that something isn’t possible.” When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. …

At the beginning of each year, I like to write an email to our company about what I think is important for the year ahead. This year, I shared this story about two of our hosts and their treehouse. I want to tell you a story about two of our…

As children, we have vivid imaginations. We stay up late waiting for Santa Claus, dream of becoming President, and have ideas that defy physics. Then something happens. As we grow older, we start editing our imagination. For me, it happened gradually. At the time, I thought it was just part…

I once met a traveler named Charlie. He came up to me and said something I will never forget. He said, “Brian, I travel because it makes my life seem longer.” His statement perplexed me, so I asked him to explain. He continued, “When I am on my death bed…

Yesterday I arrived back in San Francisco, along with 200 of us, from one of the longest and most emotionally draining weeks since we started Airbnb. The week began last Sunday when I landed in Paris for the Airbnb Open, arriving at a charming 6th floor attic apartment in Saint…

On June 26, 2008, our friend Michael Seibel introduced us to 7 prominent investors in Silicon Valley. We were attempting to raise $150,000 at a $1.5M valuation. That means for $150,000 you could have bought 10% of Airbnb. Below you will see 5 rejections. The other 2 did not reply. The investors that rejected us were smart people, and I am sure we didn’t look very impressive at the time.

Introduction In 2007, Joe and I opened our home up to the first Airbnb guests. They booked a place to stay, but they ended up with something more than just an airbed at a slightly messy apartment. They learned our favorite places to grab coffee, ate the best tacos in the…

This photo was taken in the original apartment where Airbnb started. On Monday, October 21, 2013, I sent this letter to our entire team at Airbnb. I have decided to publish this in the event it is helpful to entrepreneurs building their cultures. Hey team, Our next team meeting is…

Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, photograph by Sam Comen Imagine if you could build a city that is shared.