Following a slew of product updates announced over the past couple weeks, Airbnb has appointed a new executive: Amazon Prime head Greg Greeley will join the company as president of the Homes business unit.
In a blog post, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says Greeley will be responsible for the “Airbnb for Everyone” strategy, including the newly launched Airbnb Plus and Airbnb Collections as well as the expanded Superhost and upcoming Superguest programs.
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“Even among an amazing and diverse slate of candidates, Greg stood out for his phenomenal customer-first approach, global operations excellence and a decades-long commitment to developing and mentoring talented leaders,” Chesky says.
At Amazon, where he worked for 18 years, Greeley is credited with helping create and scale its membership program Amazon Prime. He also helped build Amazon’s European business and assisted with opening the company in India, Brazil and Australia.
Around the time he was working for Amazon in Europe, a source tells PhocusWire that Greeley was considered for but declined the role of CEO at Airbnb’s self-proclaimed new rival, Booking.com.
At press time, a representative from Booking Holdings had not returned request for comment.
According to Chesky, since the company’s latest announcements, more than 12,000 people have applied as Airbnb Plus hosts in its 13 launch markets. In the first week, there was a 95% increase in nights booked for Airbnb Plus homes, and more than half a million hosts have updated their listings to reflect Airbnb’s expanded category types.
In a statement, Greeley says: “Words can't express how excited I am to join the Airbnb team. I've used Airbnb for years, and the chance to work here and expand the positive impact its community is having around the world is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
In The Big Chair - Brian Chesky