Airbnb is attempting to quell backlash from within its host community over revelations that Joe Gebbia, the company’s co-founder, is working with Elon Musk at his Department of Government Efficiency.
Airbnb co-founder’s work with DOGE has many of the platform’s hosts and guests threatening to leave. (Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Gebbia, one of Airbnb’s three billionaire co-founders, has taken a role at DOGE alongside Musk, The New York Times reported on Feb. 13.
- Gebbia clarified his role last week in a statement on X and in a follow-up New York Times story, saying he was bringing his “designer brain and start-up spirit” to DOGE to improve the” slow and paper-based retirement process” for federal workers.
- Since the original New York Times story broke, Airbnb’s community portal has been flooded with hundreds of negative comments from Airbnb hosts and guests threatening to leave the platform.
- In a statement to Forbes, Airbnb spokesperson Christopher Nulty said, “Joe is joining DOGE in his personal capacity” and Gebbia’s “personal views don’t reflect the views of Airbnb or Airbnb.org” (which had previously been shared with travel news outlet Skift).
- Neither Gebbia nor DOGE responded immediately to Forbes’ requests for comment.
Key Background
Gebbia is part of Airbnb’s origin story. He founded Airbnb with friends Brian Chesky and Nate Blecharczyk in 2008, when he and Chesky, then unemployed roommates in San Francisco, decided to rent out air mattresses in their living room to people who needed a cheap place to stay. Gebbia held various roles at Airbnb, including Chief Product Officer, but has not been involved in the company’s operations since 2022—the year he joined Tesla’s board of directors. He remains on Airbnb’s board. A Tesla board member, Gebbia is also reportedly a close friend of Musk’s.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes currently values Gebbia’s net worth at $8.6 billion, due largely to his 7% stake in Airbnb.
Crucial Quotes
Over the past several weeks, hundreds of Airbnb hosts from around the world have taken to the Airbnb Community Center to lodge complaints ranging from “This makes me very sad as I can’t support a guy like that” and “I am extremely disturbed” to “Joe Gebbia cannot remain on the board” and “There are other options out there besides Airbnb.” Similar comments appear on Reddit, where the group for Airbnb hosts has 90,000 members.
Big Number
150 million. That’s the number of global Airbnb users, including over 45 million in the United States.
Big Number
$30.4 million. That’s the value of Airbnb shares Gebbia sold on Feb. 25, according to an SEC filing.
Tangent
The co-founders have different political leanings. Chesky and Blecharczyk have a history of donating to Democratic candidates. During the 2024 election cycle, Chesky did not donate to any candidates. Blecharczyk donated $10,000 to the California Democratic Party and $16,600 to elect George Whitesides to the House in California’s 27th congressional district, according to FEC filings. During the same cycle, Gebbia donated tens of thousands of dollars to state-level affiliates of the Libertarian Party in addition to donating $41,300 to the Libertarian National Committee and nearly $177,900 to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s victory fund, FEC filings show.
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