 Good evening everybody and welcome to this book review and this time I am focusing on the Airbnb story It's a book by Lee Gallagher and the tagline says how three guys disrupted an industry made billions of dollars and plenty of enemies So why did I pick this book to review this evening? Well, I'll tell you why First and foremost, this was a book that I had intended to read fully and didn't get a chance to But it's a book that I intended to read fully during my master's because I did a dissertation on the sharing economy And of course Airbnb is probably one of two of the best known companies in the sharing economy to Sorry about that to is because I wanted to specifically look at How a business went from start-up really really really start up very At the very beginning of a start-up stage to a company that can list In the order of tens of billions of dollars So I wanted to actually chart that journey as well, and I just wanted to see how they did so And and the other reason is because this weekend. I chose I'm currently I'm here in a place called Shell it's in a suburb of Antwerp and I just thought to myself well really can I review a book about Airbnb without staying in one So this is my very first Airbnb experience. I have had an apartment here Since last night. I'll be here until tomorrow morning. So I've taken two days of an apartment and You can probably see there right behind me all the books as I'm currently in the reading room in my apartment and upstairs I have Obviously, I've my whole shebang up there as I took the premises just for me and I got talking to the lady last night who owns here about her challenges and her experiences and She's a very challenging experience last weekend. So that's why I suppose I started off there But what I wanted to do was to really experience what Airbnb was really like before reviewing this book and My experience has been that the app is very useful and it's done very very well and Overall, this has given me exactly what I wanted to experience as I'm in between a couple of different things So yesterday in Antwerp. I was leading a trade show and boot for Vector West Europe We've been working with Vector West Europe for over seven years now So I was leading the Dutch and Belgian team here and tomorrow I am going to meet another one of our team in a different part of Belgium before then going on to Holland as I'm taking place I'll take you part. Sorry in a presentation in a place called Bunnick on Tuesday night before flying home Wednesday Okay, so what I needed was I needed a place of just complete solace of where I could just focus on a couple of different things That I wanted to do in a part of Belgium where I typically wouldn't see and Airbnb has done just that Precisely what exactly the guys wanted to make happen So there are the three reasons that I decided to focus on the Airbnb story at this time Now what I do want to say about this book, okay, and I will tell you later on who I think are particularly good People to be reading this who's a particularly Relevant for but can I just describe it in one way? Okay? I'm gonna describe this in one just one way This book the Airbnb story written by Lee Geller is like a one-to-one interview with Brian Chesky himself Now Brian Chesky is a guy who is very very very well known to any of us entrepreneurs Who are looking to get bigger and bigger all the time Brian Chesky is of course the CEO now He also there's two other guys in the business, but Brian Chesky is most well known What I really like about this is that this book is not done from a distance It's not done where you're just reading about this whole story and about the history and you know from a distance From a perspective looking at how how it developed Lee Geller her sat down and she spoke to so many different people in in the business and outside the business She spoke to people who are Airbnb hosts. She spoke to people who are Airbnb travelers Honest to God this woman really spoke to the individuals now if I was to ring Brian Chesky this minute Which I turns my arm in doing if I if I wanted to put if I was to ring him this minute and say hi I'm Susan. This is my first Airbnb experience. I'm an ambitious entrepreneur and I'd love to don't have a coffee with you I'm not quite sure that I would get through to Brian Chesky and that he'd drop everything and say sure The thing is though is that if you read this book, that's exactly what you get now Of course, I can't cultivate the questions that I would ask of Brian Now that Brian and I are on first name terms But while I couldn't cultivate or tailor the questions I would ask of Brian I certainly felt that I got a real insight to the person to the story to what was really going on and that That was brilliant, but you know what I really liked about this book and I think This is partly to do of course with the way in which Lee wrote it, but it's also to do with how The how they answered and the honesty that they brought to this they wrote about their mistakes now I'm not looking for anybody to write about their mistakes so that I can see that other people make mistakes Hopefully not as many as I do but that they do but rather to see That mistakes certainly do happen. We all know that but that mistakes can be surmounted That they can be temporary or as I heard recently I want a super super super phrase that I heard Carly so I caramel McKinney She is the chair of the Northern Ireland fire and rescue service. I interviewed her recently for the IOD Northern Ireland conference, okay, and Do you know what she said that day something that really stuck on my mind? She said failure is a bruise Not a tattoo. Okay, and that is what? absolutely this book embodies So I'm going to give you one example one example of a mistake that they made I want to think back now like I Don't really think this this could be very well known about their business at all One of the mistakes they made was that I don't know if you know where the name Airbnb comes from But it basically comes from the fact that Airbnb is business Which started off by offering air mattresses in accommodation and the B&B side of things was that in order to offer Hospitality in order to offer your home With an air mattress included you had to be there to give them breakfast also hence the B&B site But imagine this in order to get on the website a you had to have an air mattress and be You also had to be there to give them breakfast So at the very beginning when these guys were really struggling to get people on board They turned away people who were offering beds Actual beds one guy bought an air mattress to put on a bed to be able to be eligible for going on the site And also they would not allow people to take a whole residence You couldn't take a whole apartment like I've done this weekend You couldn't take a whole house because of course the person had to be there to give them the breakfast So the whole idea of business travelers and or even people who wanted to sleep Simply in a bed or people who wanted to take the whole families of course because they wanted the whole premises That idea they did not alone do they not think that they discounted it They said no no no no no this is supposed to be quirky and it's supposed to be Enjoyable and it's supposed to be different and it's supposed to be for people who are you know flexible and all this sort of thing Completely discounting so much of their market So I was you know, I was enthused by that to see that yes, okay Even the biggest companies in the world of which Airbnb now is and make mistakes that are Big and temporary so hopefully my small and hopefully they're temporary to They go away and as long as I keep thinking and keep talking to my customers, I'd be okay Another thing as well is that a lot of us think wouldn't it be great if we were bigger? What do we great if we had more staff wouldn't be great if we'd more customers Wouldn't be great if we'd more users wouldn't be great if we'd more business wouldn't be great if we'd more offices Wouldn't be great if our reach was bigger and what this book does what I really like about what this book does is that? it shows you the challenges of scale and it shows you all of the people who come around you the bigger you get and and how how they try to Want to choose a better world but or a better word, but they're but maybe words like how they attack you So, you know, they talk about imitators people who are Airbnb imitators people who have created businesses like them Built them up in a certain area or geography before they could get there and then said, okay Bios and for a very high price So they and of course then they also talk about people who don't like the concept of Airbnb and I'm sure many of you know the challenges that they face particularly in places like New York and Barcelona where Governments are saying no because it's just starting they say the housing market or the way in which people pay tax Etc. So it also just shows you that as those of you who are thinking about scale and thinking that you know When I get bigger it'll be it'll be easier and maybe even it'll be utopia It'll be perfect because then I won't have things to worry about we'll be making so much money. It'll be fine Well, there'll be new problems and those new problems by the way, don't throw me off But it's good to know what they are and it's good to hear how they're coming along And it's it's it's good to hear a range of different things like that now I will say and this is where I'm coming closer now to actually saying who is this for There were light bulb moments of practical business ideas in here light bulb moments of where I suddenly like just maybe looked at a paragraph in here and said Of course, that's exactly that's exactly what I should be doing Of course, why didn't I think of this earlier? And I'm approaching Eight years will be eight years old in September the ace colorton group will be eight years old in September And I have been in business before that so to think sometimes that I don't know these things sometimes it's frustrating But of course it is a journey not a destination But I will say that there are light bulb business moments in here But that particularly is if you're in it if you're in an environment if you're in a business that's seeking to build a community Or if you want to particularly partake in the peer-to-peer economy Specifically those two if you're and of course scale, right? But there's lots of books can talk to you about scale. I've mentioned you peers Inc in my last book review Now Robin Chase would know Brian Chesky very well because Robin Chase set up sip care And of course Brian Chesky was the CEO of this business So, you know the fact that there would be kind of commonalities between the two of them Of course is natural, but I do just want to make that point is that if you are thinking about building a community and Particularly in the peer-to-peer or sharing economy. There is light bulb moments of business sense in here and One thing that I really admire about these three guys, okay irrespective of what everything about the business, right? Just forget about the business for a second irrespective of any of that What I really like about these three guys and Brian Chesky in particular is they started off being three co-founding guys who set up San Fran and then they went to New York and Because that's where a lot of their customers were and they looked around and They saw a business opportunity and then they built it and then they grew it and then they scaled it And then they went outwards and then they went deeper and for any of you who are Airbnbers So for any of you who are part of the Airbnb community at all you will know that they've now branched into Airbnb experiences So today I had now delightfully right just want to preface this by delightfully I did a lightfully busy week this week and I came home from Texas on Monday morning after being at South by Southwest I had two really great events this week where I was keynote speaker or emcee and I had a range of meetings I did a podcast which would be telling you about shortly and I had a plethora of meetings, right? So look is the key thing is that I had a busy week and therefore what I wanted to do today was Little right, so what I did today was went for a gorgeous walk in the Belgian countryside Without for lunch and brainstormed about a couple of things that I'm doing here now including tonight Got ready for the week, etc. But to a large degree and I was a little bit to TV as well But I'm a partner that I want to do very little. Let's say that I was here and I wanted to do something like the locals Okay, I want to do a Chocolate tasting tour, which of course is a key thing to do in Belgium anytime. It's actually anytime anyway, but Belgium in particular Let's say that I wanted to I don't do something that I don't even know about something that the real locals would do here That's what Airbnb experiences is all about and that's why there's a whole new area And of course, they've also expanded into a couple of other smaller pieces along the way and so on and And So when I look at the growth of this business, right? They've deepened they've widened they've scaled and yet the three guys that started it are still the three guys there today Now, how do you do that? Because a lot of people a lot of business heroes? You could say right a lot of people that we know Household names many of them start off as founders then they get the business to a certain level and then they say no I'm walking away now. It's becoming a company Then it's becoming a corporation that has become a listed organization stakeholders change. How do we stick to our values and so on? So therefore there's a lot of business people are very very good But at a part of that journey these guys have done it all Particularly Brian and there was a whole section devoted to that where he spoke about how he built himself as a leader of a tiny three-person company and for a while by the way it was too and Because the the really tech guy was kind of dipping in and dipping out for a while at the beginning So so how he led the company from a really small startup of three people and no customers and right up to where it is today fascinates me and There is not that many people that I know of who've done that and I really really liked that as well and I was also interested in looking at how and what this book does What legal are really make sure to to feature it is how a company thinks There was a key change happened in Airbnb It went from being a startup, which was all about you know the numbers and Getting people on board and being a great company and recruiting the best staff you know all that business stuff and then it became a Hospitality company and then it became focusing on how do we give people experiences? How do we make sure that the people who come to Airbnb want to not just become customers? But become people who want to become everything about it. They want to tell their friends about it They want to become part of an Airbnb movement as are so so they're called They want to defend Airbnb against people who are like I mentioned earlier attacking them They want to be people who come to the Airbnb so much where they bring all I'm sorry not all but they're most and Dedicated Airbnb hosts together How how do you get to that point and a key shift there was that it became or went from a business a Start-up business. Let's be a business. Let's grow Let's scale etc to a hospitality company now What they don't talk about or what legal I heard doesn't talk about on what Robin Chase did in Peers Inc Which I reviewed few before like I mentioned is There are of course people who make an entirely professional living out of Airbnb if I bought a block of apartments And I rented them all out by Airbnb. I could de facto become a short-term led landlord and Airbnb could have you know navigated its way to angle solely towards those people as opposed to like where I am here You know the the owner of the house of the apartment is living downstairs and their family live here And I have the apartment upstairs, but this is the only Airbnb that they have So in that case while Airbnb has said that it truly truly truly wanted to focus on having lots of people Lots of homes lots of variety and it also goes through the various different stages that Airbnb travelers went through So it went from being you know a surplus stock quirky Let's try this out. Can't get a hotel room in San Francisco for a conference at all So therefore I'm going to try something else could just because I need to stay there Which is where it started then it moved into what they call the castle and igloo stage that now I don't know whether that's legal or hers term or whether it's someone else's term But that that was what and she called it. So I want to stay in a treehouse. I want to stay in an igloo I want to stay in a castle. I want to stay in Something you know that I would not come across in any way shape or form I think I told you this before I stayed in a yacht one night founded on booking.com stayed in the yacht hotel in Rotterdam Most remarkable experience really and truly most remarkable experience So that was the second phase of Airbnb and then it moved into mainstream and I actually think myself that and I'm taking myself as a Test case now I find Airbnb is becoming at the beginning of mainstream mainstream today is Hotels, okay, broadly speaking maybe for budget traveller might be hostels, but you're talking about that. That's that's mainstream I think Airbnb is at the beginning I think it's at the beginning of becoming mainstream because if I haven't done this before and as I say take myself as a business traveller test case and I'm usually somebody I love trends. I love watching them. I'm never at the first To try something typically I find and that's not because I'm adventurous But because I need things to work and he thinks to be seamless and I don't need I'm not in it to the adventure Like I was I was in it for something else which is to actually go and get started or to stay somewhere Whatever, but if as I'm talking to more and more business people Airbnb is becoming Not just that try it out or laugh not just the last resort, but you know positive I'm going for Airbnb first So I think I think it's at that stage and that now is where the book left it I would say just when this book was was book going to print Airbnb experiences were beginning. So that's that's where this this brings us up to and Also, you know what? I don't think we think about often enough as business owners And in fact as anybody whether you're a parent or whether you're an employee or whether you're a student We often don't think about the indirect impact we have, you know Somebody sometimes sends us an email and says oh, you know that introduction that you made for me two years ago We're actually now business partners or actually I'll give you an example what last night and I got a message on messenger From a savvy teen who attended our course in car two years ago I'm telling me about something that he has now just it's a recent achievement that he had and he just said things are looking up Susan thanks a million, you know, sorry that really brings this mind to my face now But and we often don't think about the indirect impact that we have because we're busy or focusing on today and so on Lee does do that. Lee Gallagher does do that What she does do is she goes and she looks at all of the like this spillout businesses the overflow businesses and for example, there's now businesses that will facilitate the greeting of guests and giving them the key and and let's just say off you go at that point So I'm going to give you a case of point. I'm going to rent out my house for two months I'm not going to be there. I wanted to offer it in Airbnb People don't want to stay for two months one stay for two days Who is going to give them the key? Who is going to top up the fridge? Who is going to clean the place? So there's other companies now that take care of all of that instead So that's what I'm talking about is Lee Gallagher does look at the indirect impact. And now I have looked I've looked into economic studies of the impact of Airbnb in various different cities So I've done that myself, but their economic reports Lee looks at this from a narrative a narrative point of view and As I come to the end of this Review, I just also want to say One other thing and that is that Man of my own heart here Brian reads a lot He reads an awful lot and if this comes to the at the very very end of the book he talks about how much he reads and how many different angles that he reads that and why he reads and the various different and Diverse sources of reading that he has now as I'm sure I've told you before anybody who's watched a book review of mine before I really started reading again when I had to read due to masters for about 10 years Yeah, from about 10 years after I left college and starting the masters I must I didn't read an awful lot. Just just read. I mean, obviously I In the in our world and in his color, you know from the point of view of training and speaking Of course, I do a lot of reading there and and that typically tends to be driven by Whatever areas that whatever briefs I'm working on at the moment But they again tend to be reports and newspapers and so on but to pick up a read Sorry to pick up a book and read it. That's different I hadn't really done that because in between doing the masters in college I did CFA charge financial analyst exams and that was six thick thick thick books Where was just me and them but that wasn't reading either that was reading with it with a review to with a view to doing an exam So it's only now I've started and the way in which I made sure so afterwards After we finished the masters I said everyone I said I'm gonna keep reading and everybody that studies and masters will tell you the same thing Oh, the reading was great, but to then I intended to stop doing it. I'm sure that was that How I have made sure that I've kept going is because of you I Genuinely mean it is because I've committed to you that I will do a book review once a month every month And anybody who reads our newsletter you can sign up for that at the positive economists calm. It's free So, you know, it's simply an email into your inbox I have promised to you that I will read a book once a month every month and review it for you So this public accountability is what makes sure that I keep reading So, um, and of course, I've seen the benefit of it really and truly I've definitely seen seen the benefit, of course And it's a fantastic pleasure. So I it took me a while to read this It took me a while to read it because I had to put it down lots of times and say, oh, I should really go and do that And and it's a read that, you know, it takes concentration others are simple ones But this one takes concentration in a lovely way So, um, I just wanted to make the point that Brian Chesky reads a lot as I believe many business leaders should and do But also, and this is something again I wholeheartedly agree with them wholeheartedly and I want to build a new business on this And I'll tell you about that in months and years to come is he Finds his sources. He is a range of different people that he goes to about hospitality or legal or managing people or Going into one particular area or are a certain piece of the law or the sharing economy or Engaging users retention creating a community now, of course, he can pick up the phone and he mentions right There's some serious name dropping in here now He can pick up the phone to Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett and Sharon Sandberg again now If I was to you know, give any one of those call, you know, maybe I might in years to come But I'm not sure how quickly I would get that that phone call returned But of course he can right but that's not the point. It's not the point about who are their seniority. It's about that you start Not that start either that's not the word that you think about who can I turn to for advice now? I turn to lots of people like countless countless Countless people I do I really really do And I know that I'm good at a couple of things and But there are millions of people much stronger than me at most things and I don't need That pressure of feeling that I need to be the best at everything because first of all I can't be and second of all if I'm only good at a couple of things and I really work on those like that'll do So I go to countless people for advice and direction and and their thoughts and their analysis and their insights That's one of the reasons that I stay in being these are air being be now is because I I talk to the people who own these Properties and I say to them, you know, what's going on in Belgium like here in Antropa So I say to people where are your customers coming from? What is going on the Belgian economy at the moment? What's the review of Brexit? What's the review of the euro? What's the review of the way in which Macron is moving forward and with European fiscal integration? For example, and what's the traffic like where do people go to school here? How long do they go to school? Why what courses at this study so every single person that I meet genuinely I mean that can be a source So I get my information from a very much sponge and because I know it's there and I value it truly truly valued So so does he Brian Chesky absolutely does that so in sorrow, okay? And I'm going to stop here and I really wanted to thank those of you a couple of very familiar faces and names Have been tuning in tonight. Thank you very much indeed for your time And what I will say this book is is that it is a business masterclass for those who want to build a community Build scale and blaze a trail. Thank you very much League Aller for putting this together It is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and I've really taken a lot of things out of it that I can implement And thank you for introducing me to Airbnb. Thank you everyone. Have a super week. Thank you. Good night