How Airbnb designs for trust

Last week, we went to Riga for Easter holiday and rent the apartment for three nights at Airbnb. It was quite great experiences. I have never been living in Airbnb apartment. My BF did and he recommended. The apartment we rent was nice, cozy place with 2 bedrooms. One toilet for 4 people sounded not good though. We had great time there. 

This speech was talking about the Airbnb and how the people comes to trust each other. It came up with how they started run business. The big problem was the trust between people. Because we were taught since childhood that stranger = dangerous. 

Think about that if you unlock your phone and give it to a stranger, how would you feel? Sense of panic? It is exactly how hosts feel the first time they open their home.  When somebody give you his or her unlock phone, how would you response? Most of us feel really responsible. That’s how guests feel when they stay in a home. 

A well-designed reputation system is key for building trust. They did research with Stanford, where they looked at people’s willingness to trust someone bases on how similar they are in age, location and geography. The research showed, we prefer people who are like us. 

Recent years, Airbnb does increase very fast. The people start to share even their homes. Sharing economy, quite a nice idea.