Insider Q&A: Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky

Three months ago, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky was working on the financial filings for the company’s hotly anticipated initial public offering. He had just returned from Palm Springs, California, and was planning a spring vacation with college pals.

But the coronavirus upended global travel — and all his plans.

“My world’s gotten really small,” Chesky told The Associated Press from his home in San Francisco, where he's spent the last 10 weeks.

Airbnb expects its revenue will be cut in half this year. Chesky recently laid off 25% of Airbnb’s staff — or 1,900 workers — and suspended projects not directly related home-sharing, like movie production and transportation. It's funding operations, in part, with a $2 billion investment from two private equity firms.

Still, Chesky is optimistic. He says Airbnb has more listings now — over 7 million — than it did at the beginning of the year as hosts open their homes to make some extra cash. The company has hired experts to develop new cleaning protocols, so guests will feel comfortable booking again.

Above all, he says, people will yearn to travel after this lonely pandemic.

“I think travel is going to feel special again,” Chesky said. “We won’t take it as for granted as we did before.”

The Associated Press spoke with Chesky about Airbnb and the future of travel. Answers have been edited for length.

Q: What will travel look like when it returns?

A: I do think it’s going to take time. I think people are not going to get on an airplane for a while. Travel is going to resume by car, and the really big trend is going to be people traveling near them. For example, 13% of our business pre-COVID was people traveling and staying at Airbnbs 50 miles from them. Now that’s 30%. A third of our...