Airbnb Environmental Complexity #1: List out as many elements affecting your company as you can for each of the sectors below. Industry (Competitors, industry size, competitiveness, related industries): The peer-to-peer (P2P) market is relatively new to the internet environment. While Airbnb is currently the giant based on size and financial backing, there are several companies that also have a share of the market. In addition, there are many newcomers that are trying to cash in on the concept including some that have focused on specialized markets such as family friendly, sexual orientation or race. Significant competitors: • Tripping.com is not a P2P rental site rather a search engine similar to Hotels.com or Cheaptickets.com. Their platform has the ability to search multiple booking sites simultaneously so you can compare prices or locations. They have agreements with HomeAway, FlipKey, Homestay, Roomorama, Wimdu and numerous others. They have over 8 million properties in 150,000 destinations. (Chan, 2016) • HomeAway, acquired by Expedia, is one of Airbnb’s largest competitors with over 1 million listings worldwide servicing 190 countries. They have acquired several other rental websites including VacationRentals.com and VRBO. Their annual revenues exceeded $500 million in 2015 and they were valued at $3 billion. (Taylor, 2016) • Homestay focuses on a personal interaction with hosts. Instead of listing a vacant rental, a guest is booking a room in the host’s home. Hosts are encouraged to list their hobbies and help with sightseeing. (Timothy, 2017) • Roomorama makes safety a top priority. They have over 60,000 properties in over 4,000 locations across the world. It is extremely popular in Europe and has a strong presence amongst business travelers. • Wimdu has over 300,000 listings in over 140 countries. They are one of the biggest competitors in the European market. (Techboomers.com, 2017) • TripAdvisor is the largest, most trusted online travel community which includes reviews of vacation rentals, restaurants, tours, etc. They acquired FlipKey and several other P2P sharing sites which is allowing them to evolve to a full-service booking platform. (Taylor, 2016) • Please note that there are several other competitors in this market that are not listed due to size of the firm or their specialized niche did not directly correlate to Airbnb’s overall mission. Competitiveness: Airbnb is the current industry leader of P2P sharing sites. While their product is no longer unique, they have been able to capitalize on early marketing strategies. Being at the forefront has enabled them to recruit hosts early on rather than having to compete for listings. Airbnb has the lowest accumulative costs for their users. They do not charge a listing fee for potential hosts rather their fees are built into a 3% host percentage and a variable guest percentage between 6-12%. (Timothy, 2017) Airbnb established the concept of P2P home sharing. In the last few years they have expanded to include a charitable foundation, restaurant reservation site, and have purchased several smaller P2P home sharing sites. Industry size: Travel and tourism now accounts for 10% of global gross domestic product with $7.2 trillion in revenue. As the market continues to increase, Millennials and Generation Z have been quick to embrace the home sharing concept. Millennials already account for 60% of Airbnb’s guests. In addition, the senior population has been their fastest growing demographic. (Airbnbcitizen.com, 2017) Airbnb’s website boasts over 3 million listings worldwide, servicing over 65,000 cities and 191 countries. As of 2016, Airbnb listed $1.7 billion in total revenue and $100,000,000 in profits (Tom, 2017) As of March 2017 they have acquired an additional funding now totaling more than $3 million and valuing the company at $31 billion. (Wikipedia.org, 2017) Raw Materials (Suppliers, manufacturers, real estate, services): Suppliers: Since Airbnb does not offer goods directly, suppliers could be considered the hosts who are offering their homes to renters. Airbnb doesn’t necessarily have vendors. They have partnered with businesses such as American Express and Delta Airlines to provide incentives for people to book or host through their service. Real estate: Airbnb has 22 locations from China to Canada including several in the United States alone. Their headquarters are located in San Francisco, CA. Services: Airbnb does not directly offer goods or services to users. They offer a platform which connects individuals who want to transact business with each other. (Nath, 2017) Airbnb helps facilitate rental property via a P2P sharing platform. They recently have begun facilitating Experiences which enables hosts to offer a travel guide adventure based on the particular region they represent. Experiences focus on Sports, Nature, Entertainment, Food, Arts, or Social Impact type activities. (Airbnb.com, 2017) Airbnb also created mobile applications that can be utilized via iOS or Android technologies. Human Resources (Labor market, employment agencies, universities, unions): Airbnb has 18 departments which include Engineering, Data Science and Analytics, Finance and Accounting, Business Development, Customer Experience, Design, Employee Experience, Information Technology, Legal, Operations, Localization, Marketing and Communications, Photography, Product, Public Policy, Research, Talent and Trust and Safety. Each department consists of personnel from several different geographic regions. They utilize a matrix structure which has enabled them to work cross departmentally and improve overall communications. (Airbnb.com, 2017) In July of 2011, Airbnb had just over 130 employees worldwide. By September of 2011 than number had nearly doubled. By 2015 they had increased to 2,368 employees and as of May 2017 the number has increased to over 3,100. (Quora, 2017) To date they are currently recruiting for over 220 positions. (Airbnb, 2017) Airbnb has a diverse workforce however they aim to increase its percentages of minorities in the upcoming year. They will focus their efforts on recruiting from historically black colleges as well as schools with large Latino populations. They are also working with a recruiting startup that will source candidates from underrepresented groups and have implemented a new policy that will require women and people of color are included in candidate selection processes for senior positions. Airbnb has continued to address benefits, which is a key recruiting tool. They have enhanced their parental leave program, supported LGBT related policies including domestic partner benefits and transgender-inclusive healthcare and expanded programs that include disabled, immigrant, Native American and Asian populations. (Blog.atairbnb.com, 2016) Airbnb has also created their own University program, Data University, which consists of programs ranging for the beginner level to 300 level courses which targets engineers and data scientists. (Feng, 2017) Airbnb was voted Glassdoor’s #1 company to work for in 2015. In 2016 Airbnb reorganized their HR department renaming it Employee Experience. The former structure had different divisions for each function of traditional human resources roles. The new structure brought those functions into one department which combined Recruitment, Benefits, Compensation, Diversity, Culture, Facilities, Safety and even Food Services into one comprehensive department. (Morgan, 2016) Despite the reorganization they dropped to 35th place in 2016. Reasons reported by employees included a loss of growth potential, less communication from management and a decrease in work-life balance. (Kauflin, 2016) Employment agencies: Airbnb’s postings are advertised via their webpage. They post positions based on location as well as function. They also recruit at University job fairs most recently focusing on historically black universities and Latino populations. Unions: Airbnb is a non-union employer. Financial Resources (Stock markets, banks, private investors): ▪ Stock markets: Airbnb is not publicly traded however they are on the verge of an IPO (Benner, 2017) ▪ Banks: Airbnb has secured a $1 billion line of credit ▪ Private investors: Airbnb has raised more than $3 billion in venture capital. Market (Customers, clients, potential users): Customers: Airbnb has two target clients; hosts and guests. They target hosts that offer entire homes or apartments, private rooms or shared rooms. Their Experience offering includes hosts who are will to offer travel guide specialized experiences. Guests range from all ages and income levels. They provide options to guests who are looking for the cheapest option and those who want a luxury experience. Millennials make up more than 60% of Airbnb’s users. The senior population is the fast growing demographic. (Airbnbcitizen.com, 2017) Potential users: Airbnb has been putting its focus on growing the community in China. They also have been working on establishing a presence in lower income communities. (Airbnbcitizen.com, 2017) Technology (Techniques of productions, computers, information technology, e-commerce): Information Technology: Airbnb has several specialized areas in the Information Technology department. ▪ Global Payment - Airbnb is a licensed money transmitter. They currently used Braintree however they have recently acquired Tilt which is a payment processing vendor. ▪ Trust & Safety - Private messaging through their site is the only contact method until there is a confirmed reservation. Their