New Airbnb hire is signal of plan for travel division
Airbnb has made a new hire that indicates a bold new direction — and potentially lucrative revenue stream — for the vacation-rental company as it weighs an initial public offering that could value it in the tens of billions of dollars.
Fred Reid, an aviation industry pioneer, is joining the San Francisco company as global head of transportation. While Airbnb was coy on details of just what Reid will do, in the past CEO Brian Chesky has spoken of taking on more of the roles of a fullservice travel agency, including handling flights and ground transportation.
Reid and Chesky both hinted at what his portfolio might encompass.
“Airbnb and its incredible global community have revolutionized where you stay and what you can do when you travel,” Reid said in a statement. “I’m excited to work with them to tackle the third part of the travel experience: how you get there. Whether in the air or on the ground, there are tremendous opportunities to create products and forge partnerships with other companies that make travel easier and even fun.”
That “audacious challenge” will “will take years and require constant experimentation,” he said.
“There was a time when getting on a plane was a magical trip of its own, but over the years, how you get to where you’re going has be-
come an experience we endure, not enjoy,” Chesky said in a statement about Reid’s hiring. “We believe that needs to change.”
Though its lodging business continues to grow, Airbnb has also sought to diversify into offering activities, like redwood-forest tours or ramen-cooking lessons, that can be added to stays, and its website now includes a directory of restaurants with ratings from travelers and hosts, with some available to book online through a partnership with reservation site Resy.
Reid was the first CEO of Virgin America, president of Delta Airlines and CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines. He helped create the Star Alliance, the first time that multiple airlines jointly marketed flights and frequent-flier rewards under an independent brand. Most recently, Reid was president of a division of Kitty Hawk, Google co-founder Larry Page’s flying-car startup.