Airbnb
Following her stint at LivingSocial and Singtel Digital Media, Varshao Rao was hired by Airbnb in November 2013 as Head of Global Operations, on the executive staff. Specifically, she was hired to lead local operational teams around the world as well as customer experience and and trust and safety. In practice, she managed Airbnb operations in 16 cities, supervising teams across Europe, Asia and in the US (SF, NY and others cities), and more.
Varsha's work focused on growth in many international markets, supply acquisition, vacation rentals, customer service, and most notably, the company’s expansion across Asia.
During her time at Airbnb the company experienced significant growth in revenues, global headcount and overall valuation.
Airbnb is a leading San Francisco-based online marketplace and hospitality broker service. It was founded in 2008 by former roommates, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbie, who could not afford to pay the rent for their apartment. Necessity is the mother of invention, and as such, they decided to put an air mattress on the floor of their living room and rent it out.
Realizing that the idea had potential, Chesky’s former roommate, Nathan Blecharczyk, joined them as CTO, and Airbnb was born.
Since its modest start, Airbnb has enjoyed enormous success. Members around the world use it to book lodging and accommodations, primarily by individuals renting out their own residences. In the third quarter of 2018, Airbnb announced revenue of more than $1 billion.