Airbnb’s Bold Pivot to an “Everything App” – Brian Chesky’s Vision for the Future

irbnb, long synonymous with travel and unique home rentals, is embarking on a transformative journey to redefine itself as an “everything app.”

In a recent interview, Airbnb’s founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, shared his ambitious vision to extend the company’s peer-to-peer model beyond travel, offering services like chefs, masseuses, and more, effectively aiming to “Airbnb the whole world.”

This blog explores Chesky’s motivations, the challenges of this pivot, and what it means for Airbnb’s future, spotlighting key quotes from the interview.

Airbnb as the “Everything App”

Chesky’s inspiration draws from Amazon’s moniker as the “everything store,” but with a twist—Airbnb aims to dominate services, not just products. He envisions a platform where users can book a wide array of services in their own cities, not just while traveling.

“Everyone called Amazon the everything store. And I’m like, well Amazon’s the everything in a cardboard box store but it’s not services. And so what if you get Airbnb, a chef, a masseuse.”

This shift repositions Airbnb as a community-driven platform, not merely a travel company. Chesky emphasized that Airbnb’s core is about fostering connections between people, whether through travel, local experiences, or services.

“We’re really much more like a community where you can travel and live, and it’s much more about, like being on the beaten path, doing things between one person and the other.”

Rebuilding from the Ground Up

Transitioning to an everything app was no small feat. Chesky admitted the undertaking required a complete overhaul of Airbnb’s infrastructure, from rewriting the app to rethinking marketing and building new departments.

“Little did I know how much work it would be. I thought, oh, we could just take our model and extend it. It turned out we had to rebuild our technology stack. We had to, like, rewrite our app… It was a bit of a all hands on deck for a year, two years to get to this day.”

This “all hands on deck” effort underscores the scale of Airbnb’s ambition and the complexity of expanding into dozens or even hundreds of service categories.

“We’re starting with ten categories of services. I think there are dozens or hundreds of categories of services that we could offer.”

Diluting the Travel Brand?

A key question Chesky faced was whether expanding beyond travel risks diluting Airbnb’s iconic brand. He acknowledged internal debates but clarified that Airbnb’s identity transcends travel—it’s about community and connection.

“We ultimately realized that we’re not really a travel company per se. We’re really much more like a community where you can travel and live.”

Chesky believes this pivot aligns with Airbnb’s ethos of enabling personal, off-the-beaten-path experiences, whether in a new city or one’s hometown.

A New Social Dimension

The app’s redesign introduces user and host profiles, enabling communication akin to social networking. Chesky sees this as a return to the roots of “social networking” before it became “social media” focused on performance over connection.

“We’re not trying to create a social network online, but I like the idea that we’re trying to essentially create almost like a social network in the real world… I want to be one of the tech founders that is trying to get people off of tech devices into the real world.”

This vision positions Airbnb as a facilitator of real-world interactions, using technology as a gateway to meaningful experiences.

Remote Work and Company Culture

On a related note, Chesky discussed Airbnb’s flexible work policy, requiring key employees to gather in San Francisco one week per month. This approach balances remote work with in-person collaboration, avoiding the pitfalls of fragmented “return-to-office” mandates.

“When we ask people to come to in a week, a month in office, it’s San Francisco. So we’re all gathered in the same space… The best way to make sure people working hard is to do what we did have a giant launch, a big deadline program, manage track progress, meet with teams every week.”

The Road Ahead

Chesky views this launch as “just the beginning of a new chapter.” With plans to expand into numerous service categories and enhance real-world connections, Airbnb is carving out a unique category distinct from traditional travel agencies or hotel chains.

“I do not think Airbnb is an online travel agency or an OTA… We’re trying to create our own course, our own category.”

Brian Chesky’s vision for Airbnb as an everything app is a bold bet on the power of community-driven services. By leveraging its peer-to-peer model, Airbnb aims to redefine how people connect, live, and experience the world—whether traveling or at home.

While challenges like brand dilution and technical overhauls loom, Chesky’s clarity of purpose and willingness to rethink Airbnb’s identity signal a promising, if ambitious, future.

As he puts it, this is about creating “a social network in the real world,” a mission that could reshape how we think about technology and human connection.