Leigh Gallagher Book order

In 2008, two broke art school graduates and their coder-whiz friend set up a platform that - in less than a decade - became the largest provider of accommodations in the world. Now valued at $30 billion, Airbnb is in the very top tier of Silicon Valley's `unicorn' startups. Yet the company has not been without controversy - disrupting a $500 billion hotel industry makes you a few enemies. This is also a story of regulators who want to shut it down, hotel industry leaders who want it to disappear and neighbourhoods that struggle with private homes open for public rental. But beyond the headlines and the horror stories, Airbnb has changed the terms of travel for a whole generation - where a sense of belonging has built trust between hosts and guests seeking a more original travel experience that hotels have struggled to replicate. This is the first, definitive book to tell the remarkable story behind Airbnb in all its forms - cultural zeitgeist, hotel disruptor, enemy to regulators - and the first in-depth character study of its leader Brian Chesky, the company's curious co-founder and CEO. It reveals what got Airbnb where it is today, why they are nothing like Uber, and where they are going next.

In 2008, two broke art school graduates and their coder-whiz friend set up a platform that - in less than a decade - became one of the largest provider of accommodations in the world. Now valued at $31 billion, Airbnb is in the very top tier of Silicon Valley's 'unicorn' startups. Yet the company has not been without controversy - disrupting a $500 billion hotel industry makes you a few enemies. This is also a story of regulators who want to shut it down, hotel industry leaders who want it to disappear and neighbourhoods that struggle with private homes open for public rental. But beyond the headlines and the horror stories, Airbnb has changed the terms of travel for a whole generation - where a sense of belonging has built trust between hosts and guests seeking a more original travel experience that hotels have struggled to replicate. This is the first, definitive book to tell the remarkable story behind Airbnb in all its forms - cultural zeitgeist, hotel disruptor, enemy to regulators - and the first in-depth character study of its leader Brian Chesky, the company's curious co-founder and CEO. It reveals what got Airbnb where it is today, why they are nothing like Uber, and where they are going next

A thorough and objective profile of this groundbreaking and unusual company covers its founders, meteoric rise, nagging troubles, and global popularity.

Created just eight years ago, Airbnb has become hugely disruptive in the long standing hotel business and in entire urban economies. Drawing upon extensive research and years of interviews with Brian Chesky, the youthful CEO of Airbnb, Leigh Gallagher will present a thorough and objective account of this unusual company, examining its meteoric and colorful rise, its nagging troubles, its popularity around the world, and the concerns regarding its growth and potential pitfalls. It's meant to appeal to both general business readers as well as anyone who has used or been tempted by Airbnb.

The author traces the rise and fall of American suburbia from the stately railroad suburbs of the early 19th and 20th centuries to current-day sprawling exurbs where residents spend as much as four hours each day commuting. She shows why suburbia was unsustainable from the start and explores the hundreds of new, alternative communities that are springing up around the country and promise to reshape our way of life for the better. Consider some of the forces at work : the nuclear family is no more, our marriage and birth rates are steadily declining, while the single-person households are on the rise. We want out of our cars: the hours long commutes forced on us by sprawl have become unaffordable for many. Meanwhile, today's younger generation has expressed a perplexing indifference toward cars and driving. Both shifts have fueled demand for denser, pedestrian-friendly communities. Blending powerful data with vivid on the ground reporting, Gallagher explains why understanding the shifts taking place is imperative to any discussion about the future of our housing landscape and of our society itself--and why that future will bring us stronger, healthier, happier and more diverse communities for everyone.--Publisher information