Yesterday, they announced a new service, Samara, calling it “a multidisciplinary innovation and design studio within Airbnb” aimed at creating new ideas and building new services for the company. So why introduce the innovation lab now? Well, because they need to innovate to survive.
Why Airbnb Needs the Change
Fast Company’s exclusive on the Samara lab digs into why the founders decided they needed to look forward into the company’s future: It’s because they took a look back at plenty of other companies’ pasts.
Where They Might Go
Airbnb’s first move is to build a community center with rentable rooms. Yoshino, Japan, is the first location, though more are planned. With this development, Airbnb is moving in on the same industry it disrupted: the hotel service. But there’s a twist, as certain non-Airbnb groups will own the centers, not Airbnb, as The Verge explains: They’re keeping their hands off the entire service, but they’re definitely moving beyond their origins, as all massive, healthy companies must.
