Open Floor Plans Are “A Thing Of The Past” According to Airbnb’s CEO

Airbnb recently adopted a permanent remote work option for employees, but CEO Brian Chesky says that even when employees do return to its offices, they will look completely different. 

While Chesky says he’s not sure exactly what the company’s offices will look like moving forward, he is interested in creating a space that is “innovative in the office and workplace design of the future.”  

As part of this, he predicts that open office plans will become irrelevant. 

“The open floor plan with these meeting rooms that everyone’s waiting in line to get in and no one can find a meeting room, all of that is I think a thing of the past,” said Chesky. 

For its new work arrangements, Chesky plans to bring employees together for one week quarterly to keep them connected with one another. By doing so, Airbnb will be able to cut down on its costs and footprint for offices. 

Chesky expects that the company will use its new savings towards “travel entertainment to gather people,” but that overall business travel would likely decrease.  

Starting September, Airbnb employees will be given the chance to work from over 170 different countries for up to 90 days each year as part of its warm embrace of remote working capabilities. However, workers will still need a permanent address for tax and payroll purposes. 

“Most companies don’t do this because of the mountain of complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zone availability, but I hope we can open-source a solution so other companies can offer this flexibility as well,” said Chesky.