Chip Conley, Airbnb’s head of global hospitality and strategy, has confirmed with HOTELS that after four years he is stepping down on January 23 from his day-to-day role.
Conley, still a hotel owner as well, said he will stay on at Airbnb as a strategic adviser in Hospitality and Leadership.
“Four years ago, when the founders asked me to join Airbnb to help it become a world-class hospitality company, I didn’t know the product and wasn’t clear on why home-sharing was starting to become popular,” Conley said. “At the time, I also didn’t have an Uber or Lyft app on my phone.
‘What was supposed to be 15 hours a week as a mentor to the co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, turned into 15 hours a day almost overnight and I’ve spent almost four years in the trenches helping Airbnb democratize hospitality. It’s been such an honor to work aside such a smart, idealistic group of people. Now, it’s time for me to advise from the sidelines rather than have a day-to-day role, as it was originally supposed to be part-time. As a hotel owner and Airbnb shareholder, I firmly believe that hotels and homes can simultaneously exist in the lodging eco-system.”