Page 80 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - May 2016

hospitality Home

WHAT IS AIRBNB?
What’s the a raction? According to
the Airbnb blog, guests are staying in
Airbnb is a privately owned accom-
Airbnb homes to have a unique experi-
modation rental Web site that allows ence that they can’t get anywhere else.

“hosts” to rent out their properties or The incentive for hosts to open up their
rooms to guests from all over the world
residences to strangers lies in the ability
who are looking for accommodations in to earn money to help pay bills.
a desirable area that are cheaper than a
According to info provided by
typical hotel can provide.
Airbnb, guests who traveled last

In 2007, San Francisco apartment summer using the Web service came
roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Geb-
from all over the world, traveling from
bia started up the concept of AirBed
57,000 cities. The average age of
& Breakfast on their living room oor
these travelers was 35 years old, and
when they learned of three people at- 54 percent of the guests were women,

tending a design conference in the city while 46 percent were men. Three of
who needed a place to stay. For Chesky
the biggest routes in summer 2015
and Gebbia, o ering the use of three were Paris to Lisbon, New York City to
air ma resses and providing homemade
the Catskills and Hudson Valley, and
breakfast to guests was a creative way Seoul to Osaka.

to help pay the rent.
O en, Airbnb use is very popular
By 2015, just eight years later, the
for people traveling to cities for major
Airbnb community is comprised of 191 events such as music concerts, the
countries and 34,000 cities around
Copa America soccer tournament
the world. More than 50 million guests in Chile, or the start of the Tour De

have since stayed in an Airbnb accom- France in the Netherlands. Additional
modation, with 30 million who did so
events include the Super Bowl, and the
just in the last year.
2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

is, who you are designing for; what they want; and “exploration of hedonistic possibilities of archi-
the experience they seek.
tecture in a futuristic tropical playground of urban

“The industry is using high design to sha er the sophistication.” It reportedly merges the best a ri-
status quo,” revealed Toby Bozzuto, whose proj- butes of its location into one extraordinary space.

ects such as the Baltimore-based Anthem House Oppenheim believes it’s important for designers to

– a luxury apartment community designed to “cater “look at di erent aspects nurturing creativity.”
to residents’ personal lifestyles with a focus on pro- Morris Adjmi asserted that the trend of resi-

viding opportunities for adventure combined with dential and hospitality design blending together is
comfort and convenience” – are leading the way. based on what he called “the Airbnb e ect.”

“There is a need to create meaningful sanctuary “There is an immediate comfort level,” Adjmi

and spaces that are experiences,” he said. To do so, explained. “People are comfortable with a more
designers need to study extraordinary experiences authentic experience versus an arti cially cu-

and incorporate them into their designs through rated one. One of the things we try to do is make
the amenities and the environment.
experiences that are more like staying at home.”

An integral part of that process to keep in mind, His rm’s work on the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn

according to Chad Oppenheim, is that in “residen- brought authenticity to new heights. They took a
tial lifestyles, one is designing for lifestyle — not turn-of-the-century industrial co-op and converted OX
C
buildings.” His rm’s mixed use/multifamily project it into a destination hotel that features “historic NEY
Ten Museum Park in Miami, is described as an
elements juxtaposed with new interventions.” A
IT
WH

78 enLIGHTenment Magazine | May 2016
www.enlightenmentmag.com