Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky does not believe disruptive business models are threatening the travel industry. He predicts the travel sector will grow enormously in the 21st century, leaving enough room for both traditional and peer-to-peer travel companies.

In his keynote speech at last weeks Travel Innovation Summit, one of the largest global travel conferences in Phoenix, Arizona, Brian Chesky told the story of his startup Airbnb. The company is currently the worlds largest peer-to-peer vacation rental platform with over 10 million nights booked.

According to Chesky, the travel industry is one of the most undervalued industries in the world and will see enormous growth in future decades. One reason he predicts this sector wil grow is that Airbnb’s business model has created entirely new markets by enabling people to rent out everything from homes, to boats, castles and tree houses. He argues that his development shows that the travel industry is about much more than finding accomodation while traveling:

It’s about being mobile. It’s about how we will live in the future.

Despite the emergence of many clones in the p2p vacation rental space such as Wimdu and 9flats, Airbnb has thrived thanks to its passionate community of users. What has been their secret to success?

The best marketing is investing in the user experience. Then your users will market for you.

Watch the full keynote speech about the Airbnb success story and an interesting discussion of Brian Chesky with two of his competitors Simon Lehman, CEO of InterHome AG and Brian Sharples, co-founder and CEO of Homeaway, Inc:

Photo credit: CC Fortune Live Media

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