Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2020 - 43

WHERE ANYONE CAN BELONG
ANYWHERE
The goal of Airbnb's customer
experience training is to help employees
develop their ability to design and
deliver an optimal Airbnb experience,
which the company defines as creating
"a world where anyone can belong
anywhere." To that end, Airbnb teaches
its employees experience design skills
to continually improve its web platform
and support the business development
needs of Airbnb hosts. Ultimately, Airbnb
hosts are responsible for creating
experiences where all guests feel like
they belong.
After the company scaled, Airbnb
altered its approach to teaching hosts
how to foster hospitality and belonging.
Chip Conley, Airbnb's first head of
hospitality, notes, "In the early days, I did
a series of road trips across the world
to 26 different markets where I would
literally run two-hour workshops. That
travel allowed a few hundred hosts in
each market to immerse themselves
deeper in hospitality skills."
Later, Airbnb began delivering hosts
just-in-time training based on guests'
ratings and reviews. Conley explains,
"We realized we had to help hosts
understand what they were missing
when it came to hospitality. Often,
hosts would have high ratings on most,
but not all, important areas of service
excellence, so we would send those
hosts emails with relevant and helpful
information based on opportunities in
areas like responsiveness."
REGIONAL TRAINING
Today, Airbnb relies on its regional
team members to meet hosts' needs
when it comes to delivering hospitality
and running their business. Leaders at
Airbnb have also organized training and

community networking platforms, such
as Airbnb Community Center and Airbnb
Host Clubs.

"WE WANT TO ENSURE
THAT ALL ONLINE HOST
COMMUNITIES ARE

your employees deliver a differentiated
customer experience.
Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D., C.S.P., is an
internationally sought-after speaker,
author and organizational consultant
whose insights encourage leaders and
frontline workers to grow and invest
passionately in all aspects of their lives.
Email Joseph.

EMPOWERED, CONNECTED,
AND HAVE LOTS OF TOOLS
AND INSIGHTS TO DO

TAKEAWAYS

WONDERFUL WORK."

*
Laura Chambers, general manager
of home hosts, shares, "We're deeply
engaged in the Airbnb Community
Center, and we want to be as helpful as
possible for the leaders of other online
groups. We want to ensure that all online
host communities are empowered,
connected, and have lots of tools and
insights to do wonderful work." She
adds, "We have over a hundred people
on our mobilization team that sit in a
region and work with regional leads and
communities on the ground. This team
helps build community through Airbnb
Host Clubs. We have 300 Airbnb Host
Clubs, which are different based on their
local passions and interests. Generally,
these groups get involved ... to share
information like how to get more fivestar reviews .... In essence, our Airbnb
community organizers partner with
local hosts to equip them with online
tools and in-person trainings needed to
successfully lead and drive outcomes
for their local host club."

*
*
*

Customer experience training is
a journey, not a destination. By
implementing the tips in this article, you
can follow in Airbnb's footsteps and help

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE -AGILE LEARNING 2020 I WWW. T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

We are all hosts. Whether we
provide direct service or simply
host people on our website or app,
hospitality (service with heart) wins!
Success today often involves
delivering value through
technology-aided/human-powered
solutions.
A customer's memory of a service
experience is shaped by peak,
valley, transition, and end moments
along their journey with a brand.
Most customers calculate the cost
of an experience based not only
on how much money they pay but
also how much time and effort they
must expend to receive their goods
or services.
In addition to providing products
and services that meet their current
needs, most customers want service
providers to take extra steps to
anticipate their future wants, needs,
and desires. Often, that anticipation
requires little more than empathy,
observation of customer behavior,
and thoughtfulness.

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Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2020

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