Airbnb under investigation by EU over gatekeeper status
Europe: Airbnb has challenged claims that it qualifies as a ‘gatekeeper’ under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), after being added to a compliance list earlier this month.
Airbnb acquires AI stealth company GamePlanner.AI
US: Airbnb has announced the acquisition of GamePlanner.AI, a stealth 12-person AI company led by Adam Cheyer and Siamak Hodjat.
Former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive joins Airbnb
Worldwide: British designer Sir Jony Ive, who oversaw the creation of the iPhone, iMac, iPod, Apple Watch and AirPods at multinational tech firm Apple, has been brought on board by Airbnb to collaborate with the home-sharing platform’s internal design team in a multi-year deal. Ive, who is a “long time friend” of Airbnb CEO Brian […]
Apple grants Airbnb three-month concession on App Store tax
Worldwide: Apple has announced it will temporarily waive its 30 per cent tax on revenue generated by companies hosting online events, paid for via App Store transactions on its iPhones or iPads, for the next three months. The move applies to businesses that have been forced to switch to online-only events due to the Covid-19 pandemic. […]
Apple threatens to drop Airbnb from App Store over commission dispute
US: Apple has reportedly threatened to drop Airbnb and live on-demand workout platform ClassPass from its App Store if they do not comply with the company’s demands to receive 30 per cent of any sales generated by their virtual experiences and classes which are now being offered due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. The New […]
Ahrendts joins Airbnb board of directors
US: Airbnb has announced that former Apple executive Angela Ahrendts will join its board of directors, becoming only the second woman to join in an executive position. Airbnb said its board’s goal is to help the company reimagine travel by “building an end-to-end travel platform that combines where you stay, what you do, and how […]
Airbnb hires Silvanto to lead Samara design project
US: Airbnb has appointed Apple industrial design group member Miklu Silvanto to lead its Samara design studio project. Dezeen is reporting that Silvanto will now head up the industrial and interaction design team at Backyard, an initiative that was launched in 2018 to explore innovative ways to design, build and share the homes of the […]