Celebrate the ‘Art’ of Hosting

LYSSA: WELCOME BACK TO GOOD DAY KENTUCKY. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF HOSTING AN AIRBNB HAS RESONATED FOR CREATIVES AROUND THE WORLD, ALLOWING THEM TO STABILIZE THEIR INCOME IN-BETWEEN PROJECTS. THE RELATIONSHIP ALSO HELPS CREATE NEW AND UNIQUE EXPERIENCES FOR TRAVELING GUESTS.
JOINING US TODAY IS THE HEAD OF NORTH AMERICA FOR EXPERIENCES AT AIRBNB, RICCARDO ULIVI. WELCOME TO THE SHOW, RICCARDO.
RICCARDO ULIVI: HI LYSSA, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. I’M EXCITED TO BE HERE.
LYSSA: WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US. LET’S GET RIGHT TO IT. HOW CAN CREATIVE COMMUNITIES HELP FOSTER LOCAL CULTURE AND EVEN BENEFIT LOCAL ECONOMIES TOO?
RICCARDO ULIVI: YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. TRADITIONALLY AIRBNB HAS BEEN ABOUT BOOKING A HOME OR BOOKING ACCOMMODATIONS. ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, WE NOW MOVED INTO WHAT WE CALL A SPACE CALLED EXPERIENCES. AND WHAT AIRBNB EXPERIENCES ARE ARE ESSENTIALLY LOCALLY LED, HAND-CRAFTED ACTIVITIES THAT A CREATIVE, OR AN ARTIST, OR A MUSICIAN CAN HOST ON BEHALF OF THEIR COMMUNITY AND THEIR PROFESSION.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? MAYBE A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR EXAMPLE WANTS TO TAKE YOU ON A BEAUTIFUL NIGHTTIME PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION OF DOWNTOWN LEXINGTON. THIS CREATIVE OR THIS ARTIST CAN ESSENTIALLY CREATE THIS EXPERIENCE ON THE AIRBNB PLATFORM. THEY CAN SET THEIR PRICE, SET THEIR AVAILABILITY. USERS OR TRAVELERS OR LOCALS WHO ARE COMING TO LEXINGTON CAN ACTUALLY SEE THIS EXPERIENCE LIVE ON THE PLATFORM, ON AIRBNB, AND BOOK IT DIRECTLY WITH THAT HOST.
WE’RE SEEING A NUMBER OF CREATIVES IN KENTUCKY AND ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO ARE LEVERAGING AIRBNB AS A WAY TO HELP SHOWCASE THEIR PASSION, SHARE THEIR SKILLSET WITH A GLOBAL COMMUNITY AND EARN EXTRA INCOME DOING SO.
LYSSA: AWESOME, I LOVE IT. HOW DOES AIRBNB HELP PEOPLE THAT CURRENTLY WORK IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY?
RICCARDO ULIVI: YEAH, SO, OUR PLATFORM IS GREAT BECAUSE IT GETS YOU ACCESS TO A GLOBAL COMMUNITY OR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE. ONE CHALLENGE IF YOU’RE A, LET’S JUST SAY, YOU’RE A HAT MAKER IN NEW YORK CITY, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET A GLOBAL REACH INTO TRAVELERS VISITING NEW YORK FROM TOKYO, FROM AUSTRALIA, FROM GERMANY. AND SO BY HOSTING AN EXPERIENCE, YOU NOW GET, ESSENTIALLY, YOUR PROFESSION IN FRONT OF THAT GLOBAL COMMUNITY. AND SO WE HELP YOU ACCESS A COMMUNITY OF TRAVELERS THAT YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO ACCESS ON YOUR OWN. AND SEPARATELY, THE HOST IS ABLE TO SHARE THEIR PASSION WITH THAT SAME COMMUNITY. AND SO YOU’RE ALMOST LIKE BRINGING THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO YOUR FRONT DOORSTEP WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO LEAVE.
IN LEXINGTON THE AVERAGE HOST IS MAKING ABOUT $7000 A YEAR IN SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME. THAT CAN GO A LONG WAY TO HELP PAY FOR YOUR MORTGAGE, HELP FUND ANY UPCOMING TRAVEL, HELP FUND YOUR PASSION. WE’RE REALLY EXCITED THAT CREATIVES ARE LEVERAGING AIRBNB AS A PLATFORM TO EARN SOME EXTRA INCOME. ABOUT 40% OF OUR CREATIVE HOSTS ON AIRBNB HAVE MULTIPLE JOBS. AND SO WE WANT TO GIVE THEM AS MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP CAPITALIZE ON THEIR PASSION AND THEIR HOSPITALITY BY BEING A HOST ON AIRBNB.
LYSSA: ABSOLUTELY, THAT’S WONDERFUL. NOW, HOW DOES AIRBNB WORK WITH CREATIVES TO PROVIDE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES FOR THE TRAVELERS?
RICCARDO ULIVI: YEAH. WE HAVE A VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD WEBSITE WHERE YOU’RE ABLE TO GO ONLINE AND ACTUALLY SUBMIT YOUR EXPERIENCE. YOU JUST GOT TO AIRBNB.COM/CREATIVEHOSTS. IF YOU GO TO THAT WEBPAGE, YOU’LL SEE A SIGNUP PAGE WHERE YOU CAN ESSENTIALLY TALK MORE ABOUT YOUR EXPERTISE, YOUR ACCESS, YOUR PERSPECTIVE. WE’LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE ENTIRE FLOW. YOU THEN SUBMIT THAT EXPERIENCE. YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT MANAGER WHO WILL CONTACT YOU, AND THEY WILL WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR EXPERIENCE MEETS ALL OF OUR STANDARDS. AND THEN ONCE IT DOES, YOU’RE ABLE TO GET PUBLISHED ONTO THE AIRBNB WEBSITE.
AND THEN ONCE YOU’RE PUBLISHED, IT’S REALLY JUST A MARKETPLACE. TRAVELERS OR LOCALS COMING TO LEXINGTON OR TO ANY CITY AROUND THE WORLD CAN SEE WHAT’S AVAILABLE THERE. THEY CAN BOOK THE EXPERIENCE DIRECTLY WITH THE HOST. AND SO WE’RE NOW ENABLING HOSTS THIS ADDITIONAL CHANNEL TO EARN SOME EXTRA INCOME TO HELP FUND THEIR PASSIONS.
LYSSA: THAT IS AWESOME. RICCARDO, THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT SOUNDS SO EXCITING. I LOVE THIS IDEA. AND I’M GLAD THAT AIRBNB IS DOING THIS. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND WE HAVE MORE GOOD DAY KENTUCKY COMING UP. KEEP IT RIGHT HERE.