Airbnb reviews

4.1

78% would recommend to a friend

(2,378 total reviews)
avatar

Brian Chesky

86% approve of CEO

66% positive business outlook

Airbnb has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,378 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Airbnb employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Dec 11, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-- Great brand that constantly attracts top talent -- Growing at fast pace -- Bold mission -- Beautiful office

Cons

-- Lots of people are here for the wrong reasons. Whether people want to admit it or not, countless people are here for the equity, and won't hesitate to jump ship when things go south. There are prank emails titled "Important IPO Update" to get people's attention; I've overheard countless conversations with people 1) reminiscing about their old company and not willing to leave until they vest, 2) not being truly passionate about the product, or 3) directly comparing how much equity they got. The IPO is a constant question that's asked during all-hands and is frequently the most upvoted. -- The Kool-Aid here is stronger than ever. Buy into the cult or leave. A ton of people are hesitant or afraid to tell upper management about what they don't like about recent/upcoming product(s) such as Magical Trips. Several coworkers whom I've talked to and I have been part of conversations (even involving middle management) where people have openly voiced their concerns or complaints. -- Really poor transparency. Political. Depends on your team and YMMV. Your manager may verbally tell you that you're doing great and dole out compliments every so often, but you may be shocked when your performance reviews come out. -- "Culture" can be described as how well you embody the company's mission and core values, and is ridiculously subjective. Lots of talented people don't make the cut because they failed to make a good impression on the core values interviews. It's Airbnb's way of weeding out people who aren't a "good fit" for their clique. -- Very cliquey, feels like a frat. If you fit in, you'll like it. If you don't, you won't. Emphasis on drinking at company events. Overheard multiple people on different occasions making straight up sexist remarks during and after work. -- Poor work-life balance. People appear happy-go-lucky but many are in fact stressed out. Lyft drivers often tell me how people complain about work. Coworkers I've talked to complain about the constant pressure to do well for performance evaluations. -- Lots and lots of growing pains. Honestly not at all surprised they plunged to #35 on Glassdoor.

2.0
Feb 23, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Nicely decorated office; friendly people.

Cons

You'll be welcomed with open arms. People are so kind and caring here. You'll be invited to lots of meetings, many of which are about people talking at you. People will encourage you to "give feedback" and ask lots of questions, and they'll listen politely. If it's about anything that isn't working, they'll ignore you. And there aren't actually many channels for feedback, other than emailing people directly. If you do email, they'll say, "thanks so much for the input - we're working on a plan" and then do nothing. It's a very email-driven company. This starts at the top. The CEO, a cross between an overgrown frat boy and unskilled motivational speaker, sends an email every Sunday night. Its purpose is often unclear. You stop reading these after a while because they make it harder to respect him. Other things that start at the top are most of the decisions, even those that seem too mundane to be handled by execs. But this is a top-down organization, so don't expect to make decisions about the things that affect your daily work unless you get promoted. Fortunately, there are many layers of management to get promoted into. When something isn't working on a team, they just insert more managers into the already bloated hierarchy. If you toe the line with these managers, you may get to be just like one of them.

3.0
Dec 6, 2016

Fit In or Get Out

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Genuinely smart and nice people who care about the mission. They really want to do the right thing by their customers, both hosts and guests. Lots of opportunity to grow on the software side if you are a strong performer and execute well. If you completely buy into the culture in all aspects, this will be the best job you ever have.

Cons

There is not a lot of room for dissent, and the organization is aggressively political in nature. There is a heavy emphasis on fitting in and being the part of the "Airbnb culture", and those who don't fit in usually won't last very long. They emphasized diversity in all aspects of the company but thought.

Viewing 31 - 33 of 2,378 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,262 Airbnb reviews submitted anonymously by Airbnb employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Airbnb is right for you.