It must be exciting in the early days to be dubbed disruptive and gain column inches, good and bad, for every move you make.
And then, there must come a time when you just want to fit into the landscape, which is what Airbnb says its place is in business travel.
But amid cries from the hotel sector of an unlevel playing field and concerns from the business travel community around risk and duty of care, the sites business travel head Marc McCabe, says it's role is complementary and that it just wants to provide tools to help businesses.
How might it do that apart from its deal with Concur announced last summer whereby users of Concur TripLink can book directly on Airbnb?
For those that don't use Concur, McCabe says many companies are already using corporate tracking codes to book accommodation for business travel on the peer-to-peer site.
But, he says there's a job to be done in making the process more seamless, more 'robust', by making the tracking more automated, getting travellers to identify themselves and learning about their habits along the way.
And, Airbnb can then share information with companies on length of stay, dates and location so that travel managers can keep track of their travellers. It is this data, or visibility on this data, which could make or break the site's presence in the business travel segment.
McCabe acknowledges the need to take care of travellers and the role of data as part of that responsibility. And, he says there's more that can be done on the risk side in terms of reviews and matching properties to guests.
The figure of about 10% of users travelling on business is about right, he says, although it's greater when it comes to certain cities making it natural for the company to focus on the segment.
And there are use cases where Airbnb is a good fit for business travellers - transient relocation, those that have become comfortable in using it for leisure, those that are looking for something different such as to stay in specific area of a city etc.
McCabe doesn't want to talk targets. The ambition is to grow that 10% but he says if you give the audience, both travellers and travel managers, the services they require and create a more tailored offering then growth will naturally follow.
"It's about beginning to know which travellers are on business and we need to spend time thinking about travellers as well and the experience they want. Maybe it's a more consistent experience and greater visibility for travel managers as well as reviews."
No clues yet as to who Airbnb might partner with next although some high-tech travel management companies are beginning to make noises about integrating the service. Concur was first because of the ability to keep bookers on Airbnb.
Meanwhile, the hotel segment continues to cry foul play in terms of local taxation, health and safety and other regulatory issues but Airbnb, while it acknowledges overlap, it doesn't necessarily see them as competitive. McCabe says:
"I don't think it's an apples to apples comparison. Airbnb is not for every road warrior but if it can make people feel more comfortable for business travel it's wonderful."
That competition element is interesting in light of the recent estimate from Barclay's analyst on the gradual impact of the peer-to-peer service on the hotel segment.
The company is already working with local governments to create and adapt laws for what is being seen as a new segment and one that can bring revenue.
It also says it's keen to work with the travel management community in terms of getting data back to them with McCabe describing TMCs as an important part of the ecosystem. He claims 40 appointments at this week's Business Travel Show in London as proof of interest in the service.
"We're starting to think how we work in combination with them. Airbnb is very much a tool for self-booking but that does not mean we can't provide the data direct to the TMC. It's speculative but there are lots of ways to work with TMCs."
When asked about the fear and uncertainly from that quarter, McCabe points to the initial reaction from corporates and TMCs when 'bring your own device' to work was seen as dangerous and unproductive.
In other words, it will take some time, people will become more familiar with the idea and the debate will move on.