Next Question with Katie Couric

Back to Biz with Katie and Boz: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky

2020 was going to be a big year for Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky: With a valuation around $31 billion, Airbnb was going to go public on March 31. And then the pandemic hit. Within weeks, Airbnb was gutted and Brian was forced to lay off 25 percent of his staff. “It would have been so easy to just spiral,” Brian Chesky says. “But every moment is a moment for us to be doing something that’s defining, to make us better.” On this episode of Back to Biz with Katie and Boz, co-hosts Katie Couric and Bozoma Saint John talk to Brian about how he quickly pivoted his company and how travel will be forever changed. In the wake of the national anti-racism protests, Airbnb has also had to reckon with its record on discrimination. Brian Chesky shares his regrets on not doing more sooner on race and the steps the company is taking now to make the platform and the company more equitable.  Sign up for Katie Couric’s morning newsletter, “<a href="https://katiecouric.com/newsletter">Wake-Up Call</a>.” Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Katie Couric is back on the mic with a new season of intimate, urgent and unexpected conversations – this time with a new twist. Along with her signature in-depth one-on-one interviews, she’ll be joined by a number of special guest-hosts for a series of “Katie Plus One” episodes. Together they’ll get to know some of the world’s most interesting and influential people and explore the big ideas percolating in the zeitgeist--but with a focus on slowing down, diving deep, and connecting with each other, a reprieve from a culture obsessed with hot takes and surface-level small talk. Tune in every Thursday and join Katie Couric and her guests for a conversation that feels like a warm hug and a seat at the table.