Fresh Air of Inspiration

The first time I saw a TV commercial on AirBnB where a lady traveller found accommodation in homes of strangers (potential friends) overseas and experience insights like a local, I had my reservation that such a paradigm would fly. What's the big deal?   

Image by courtesy of airbnb.com

What did I know, AirBnB has now seeped into mainstream consciousness much like famous brands such as Coca-Cola, Hilton and Uber. In a recent interview with The Straits Times, co-founder Joe Gebbia revealed that AirBnb has now served 150 million travellers in 65,000 cities with some 3 million listings of homes in 191 countries.

Photo of Joe Gebbia
by courtesy of joegebbia.com

Click here to read the full article written by Mr Wong Kim Poh.

To enthuse you, here is a trivia challenge on AirBnB and some insights from Mr Gebbia:

1. What does the "Air" in AirBnB refer to?

If like me, your first thought could well be "air travel" connoting staying overseas in a home-styled Bed & Breakfast. Truth be told, the "Air" refers to something literal which is inflatable and can be bought from a local furniture store or an online site like Amazon.com. Click here to view a sample and be blown away.

'Necessity is the mother of invention' came true for Mr Gebbia as he struggled to pay his rent and hit on the idea of renting the space in his living room to meet the lack of hotel rooms in town due to a design conference with the help of airbeds and breakfast thrown in.

As history would have it, AirBnB is a snazzier version of its original name -- Airbed and Breakfast.

2. What is SW(square)+WC=MO? 

This is an equation which Mr Gebbia has learnt from one of his professors and he has used it to deal with rejections of his ideas. 

It is the attitude of 'some will love it but some won't plus who cares equals move on'.

3. Mr Grebbia has an eye for details and his first company dealt with Critbuns --portable butt pads. What course did he take up in varsity?

Hint: 'Design' is in it. No wonder you get quotable quotes from him such as follows:

"At Airbnb we’re trying to build a culture that supports details, celebrates them, and gives our teams creative license to pursue them.”

"One of the responsibilities of designers is to seek out and find the details. If we don’t who else will?”

Look no further. Inspiration is within your reach. Pursue your dream with gusto and an undivided belief that as you keep exploring and move on, you can reach a higher level of progress with eventual success. 

Take heart, don't give up. Follow your rainbow. Daily Refreshing blog is rooting for you!