I would have done a double check for cobwebs and palmetto bugs. Can you imagine getting a bum review from the ‘boss?’
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I forgot to post a summary right after I watched it. They went over the story of how it started - Brian and his roommates needed to make rent. There was a design conference in the area (hotels were booked) and they rented out several airbeds and provided breakfast.
They mentioned how close you get to know someone when all of a sudden you are living with them…and after the guests left, they thought it would be great for others to share the same “feeling.”
Now I don’t know if I really buy into that part. I thought it was all about the money for them. So…then they started recruiting others to add to the site, etc.
I really wish they would have gone over how guests were even finding them online in the very beginning. And how did the very first guests even find them when there was no Airbnb website.
What was nice is that they said “Airbnb gets a cut of each transaction.” At least that was transparent…and didn’t try to say that the traveler pays a fee in order for Airbnb to protect guests from the evil host, etc.
It was interesting, but I don’t recall much more than that.
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If I hear that story from him one more time I’m gonna puke.
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Its quaint, two poor kids struggling, has home-grown written all over it, an ‘American Dream’ theme to it and above all, its somewhat true (1%-100%). The guy is a natural salesman. 
Not to compare, but just yesterday I had three cameras pointing at me interviewing me for a feature on Bird Island by a major US newspaper; with each one these interviews about the place, now the eleventh, the island’s story become more ‘polished’ and fantastic. 
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True! You can only tell that story so many times before it starts sounds glib and self-congratulatory.
He needs to now add some drama and more pity to it, to keep it exciting. They almost starved; snuck into the local convention center and fortunately got their first booking (a guardian angel!), got a deposit and barely made it back in a blinding snowstorm to the food store to buy Ramen, because it was all they could afford. And then…
Anyone have some fresh angles to keep Brian’s story more interesting?.
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Ha ha…I truly believe the part about the “feeling” they received from their first group was a new fresh angle. I mean…c’mon - just how much time did they really spend with these people? If the guests were there for a convention, I imagine they spent a good part of their waking hours there. Then they probably went to dinner at a restaurant to network with other designers. I doubt they were in a hurry to get back to their air beds…lol.
Plus, I read that they only returned to the airbnb idea after they tried to create a roommate pairing service…and then they realized someone already was doing that.
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Do share your stories if you have links!
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