Falling fast - Anonymous employee Airbnb Employee Review

1.0
Apr 11, 2020
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free food, beautiful office, travel coupon, pay is decent

Cons

Complete micromanagement by every person in leadership, starting at the top from the CEO. I've never seen a CEO more focused on tiny little details of one product feature launch vs. the very serious issues he should be focused on, such as very critical and necessary Trust + Safety improvements so that people who stay in Airbnbs feel safe. It is appalling to see where his priorities are at. CEO runs off fear, insecurity and ego. Name drops celebrities he has "on call" to test our product. The company has lost all its charm, and it is sinking fast. This was well before any world pandemic or crisis. It's a completely white-male dominated company. Good luck if you're not a white male getting any sort of promotion. Company values are of course all lies. Not actually true that "anyone can belong" and that we're all trying to "be a host". This again starts with our CEO, who does not embody any of the core values. Trickles down from there.

Explore other reviews about Airbnb

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Airbnb's mission of creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere strongly resonates with me. I'm excited by the opportunity to build products that operate at global scale and directly impact millions of users. My background in full-stack engineering, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and AI-powered applications aligns well with Airbnb's focus on innovation, reliability, and exceptional user experiences. I am particularly attracted to Airbnb's engineering culture, emphasis on ownership, and commitment to solving complex technical challenges while delivering meaningful value to hosts, guests, and communities worldwide.

Cons

One challenge of working at Airbnb is the complexity that comes with operating a global platform at scale. Engineering teams must balance reliability, performance, compliance, and user experience across many markets and stakeholders. While this can make development and decision-making more complex, it is also one of the aspects that makes the work technically interesting and professionally rewarding.

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