Glassdoor's list of the Best Places to Work For 2016 (US) has been published and Airbnb Inc, operators of the Airbnb portal where people list, find and rent lodging, now sits atop every company within the United States. Airbnb dethroned Google, which was topped Glassdoor's 2015 list.
Airbnb is a private company that traces its root back to 2007 as an air bed and breakfast because its co-founders, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia couldn't afford to pay the rent in their shared San Francisco loft. In a statement of necessity breeding innovation, the roommates turned their living room into a temporary lodging space by providing guests with air mattresses and breakfast.
At its early stages, the company focused on providing temporary lodging for guests during high-profile events when most hotels and inns are fully-booked. In 2008, the website Airbedandbreakfast.com was formally launched. It was shortened to Airbnb.com a year later. From then on, the portal's listings went beyond just air bed and breakfast and included boats, castles, private rooms and so on.
By 2014, the company got assessed for $10 billion. It is looking to double that assessment at $20 billion before 2015 concludes. The fast growth, along with the people working for the company, was highlighted by one of the employees that rated it on Glassdoor's review section for Airbnb.
"The people that work here are some of the best I've met in my professional career. The culture is good," notes an employee that works full-time for Airbnb. "The founders are great people and I believe they have the best intentions for the company, the employees, and our community. There is a lot of opportunity to learn from different teams and possibly switch roles as departments grow and new team form."
The employee's assessment reflects the company's missions.
"Our company mission is to create a world where you can belong anywhere," says Mark Levy, Airbnb Head of Employee Experience. "In employee experience, our mission is to create a work environment where people feel like they belong here."
Airbnb is followed by Brain & Company, a global management consulting firm that is based in Boston. Guidewire, a software publisher from Foster City, California, took the third spot while Hubspot, which develops and manages an inbound marketing and sales platform, sit at No. 4. Facebook took the fifth spot.
Google is now placed at No. 8 after LinkedIn and the Boston Consulting Group that took the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Wrapping up the top ten are Nestlé Purina PetCare and Zillow at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
Below is an insider look at Airbnb by Glassdoor.
