Jesse Stein is the Global Head of Real Estate at Airbnb, where he built the team behind Airbnb-friendly apartments, a program that lets renters host their own homes part time with their landlord's blessing. Before Airbnb he played football at Florida State, then spent years in hotel finance and investments at Starwood Vacation Ownership, Wyndham, Kimpton and a private equity fund. He is worth hearing because he knows both the landlord's spreadsheet and the host's story.

Jesse Stein, Global Head of Real Estate, Airbnb

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In this conversation

From the Air Force Academy to Florida State football and a short stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars, then into hotel finance after a release from the team.

Why 35% of U.S. housing is rented, and why those renters have never been able to host the way owners can.

The three reasons a full apartment building would say yes: free demand from Airbnb, tools that keep the building residential, and a share of the revenue.

Why, after looking at a thousand office buildings at Kimpton, Jesse does not see office conversions as the answer to the housing crisis.

Gina in San Diego, who hosts during Comic-Con, paid off her student loans and started her own fitness business.

Our hosts are teachers, our hosts are firefighters, our hosts are single mothers.

Jesse Stein

Chapters

From the field to hotels

Air Force Academy, Florida State, the Jaguars, and a career in hospitality finance and private equity.

Leading a team, not a spreadsheet

Going from deal numbers to managing engineers, marketers and policy experts at Airbnb.

Letting renters host

Why renters were left out of Airbnb, and the launch of Airbnb-friendly apartments with the largest landlords.

By the numbers

Airbnb-friendly apartments, as Jesse describes them

175

buildings at launch, in roughly 25 cities

260+

properties today, with about 100 more being onboarded

100,000+

units whose residents can host if they choose

45M

rental homes in the U.S., about 35% of all housing

Jesse calls 100,000 units out of 45 million rentals a rounding error to zero. The program is the tip of the iceberg.

Source: Jesse Stein on Buildings 2.0 ↗

Why a full building says yes

Free leads, tools that keep hosting part time, a revenue share, and the slow work of educating owners, lenders and regulators.

Office conversions and proptech

Why one or two in a thousand office buildings convert, and why the end user on site comes first.

The numbers for hosts and landlords

The rent calculator, average daily rates, compression periods and the partner dashboard.

No day is the same

Policy calls, weekly talks with hosts, and what football taught him about pressure.

This is not taking away 20 units of your 100 unit apartment complex and running a hotel.

Jesse Stein

Takeaways

Renters make up 35% of U.S. housing and have been shut out of hosting. Giving them the same option as owners helps them pay rent, save for a down payment or cover the basics.

Landlords say yes for three reasons: free demand, tools that keep hosting part time in a resident's primary home, and a share of the revenue.

Build for the person on site first. Rolling out software or hardware across 100,000 units is labor, so it has to be simple enough for the property team to use.

When you're trying to install those products in 100,000 units, that's not like pressing a button, that's bricks and mortar.

Jesse Stein