TED TALK

AIRB&B
The protagonist says that the day after graduation he was having a yard sale and a man
bought one of his works.
The two of them went for a drink together and on this occasion the protagonist knew that the
man had no lodging for the night, and Joe hosted him in the air bed of his living room despite
his fear of having a probably psychotic stranger in his house.
In fact during the night Joe closed the door for safety.
In truth the two stayed in touch and that artwork is currently in the classroom where he teach
now.
This first experience of hosting changed his perspective and the idea of hosting people on
air bad stayed with him until he moved to San Francisco.
He ran out of money and the rent went up.
When there was a conference in the city and all the hotels were sold out, he proposed to two
of his friends to turn the house into a bed and breakfast for designers.
So, with the first guests, as well as having this experience, some good friendships were
made.
When the group of founders expanded, they proposed to the investors to build a website
where people could post photos of their spaces and then invite strangers to sleep in their
homes.
At first, this didn't work, as the stranger has always been seen as a danger. Joe Gebbia does
this experiment: everyone has to hand over their unlocked phone to the person sitting next to
them, so there is a sense of responsibility and it is the same as people feel when they have
guests in their homes.
The protagonist notes that the key to trust is a well-designed reputation system.
A study shows that people tend to trust someone based on similarity.
Furthermore, the protagonist and his collaborators have learned that building the right
amount of trust requires the right amount of disclosure: this can be seen in the messages
between guests and hosses.
With the right design, people would be willing to overcome the prejudice of stranger danger.
Thanks to luck, the commitment of the team and the need that was not met before, this
activity is now working, with ups and downs.
Now, out of 123 million nights only one per cent have had problems, and people are very
satisfied.
A guest from Uruguay had a heart attack and in the reviews he pointed out how the guys
who hosted him in the house helped him, accompanied him to the hospital and supported
him there. And this is an example of the Sharing Economy.
Sharing Economy is a type of commerce with the promise of human connection, where
everyone helps everyone else, and has many concrete benefits not only for the individual but
also for the whole community (creating a more united society) and for the protection of the
environment.
Today houses are designed with privacy in mind, while the protagonist sees the future as
shared cities open to all.
In South Korea they have adapted hundreds of parking spaces to be shared with residents
and students that need a place to live with empty nesters who have extra rooms.
Nothing new has been invented. Hospitality has always existed.