Airbnb was one of the trailblazers of the sharing economy, and so, when CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky today accepted the award for best collaborative consumption service — the first time the category has been a in the Crunchies — he dedicated the award to everyone: “I want to share this award with all of you,” he said.
Backstage, Chesky talked about how Airbnb was borne out of a particularly tight month when he and the other co-founders couldn’t make rent. “We started Airbnb before there was a shared economy, before the idea of collaborative consumption,” he recalled. People thought they were crazy. “Their response was, ‘Are you kidding me? Why are you even doing this?’… But I think people will look back on this time: before, people were able to create content. Now they can create industries.”
He notes that one of the company’s biggest challenges is to stay consistent as they continue to scale. “We now have thousands of travellers expecting a great experience every time,” he said.
Watch the full video below.