How the Brian Chesky Airbnb Approach to Performance Reviews Changed
In the early days of remote work, many companies simply ported their in-office systems to Zoom and Slack. But
In the early days of remote work, many companies simply ported their in-office systems to Zoom and Slack. But for Airbnb, the pandemic became a catalyst for rethinking deeper questions, especially how people are evaluated. Under CEO Brian Chesky’s leadership, Airbnb didn’t just shift how employees worked. It changed how they were seen.
The Brian Chesky Airbnb approach to performance reviews emerged as a human-first model in a time when connection, trust, and emotional intelligence mattered more than ever.
Why the Brian Chesky Airbnb Model Was a Needed Disruption
Traditional performance reviews were already on life support before 2020. Annual cycles, vague metrics, and top-down feedback often felt arbitrary or performative. In a post-COVID world marked by burnout, isolation, and shifting priorities, those systems felt not only outdated but out of touch.
Employees were asking different questions: Am I safe? Am I supported? Do I still belong here? Companies that couldn’t adapt to those emotional shifts risked losing their talent.
Brian Chesky’s Reset Moment
For Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s near death experience during the pandemic was a turning point. The company laid off nearly 25% of its staff in 2020. It was a brutal decision, but the way it was handled with transparency, compassion, and long term support earned widespread praise.
That same human-centered mindset extended into performance culture. Chesky made it clear that Airbnb needed to rebuild from first principles. That meant performance management had to reflect the company’s redefined values: flexibility, accountability, and care.
The Brian Chesky Airbnb philosophy became less about ranking and more about alignment. Are people in the right roles? Are they growing in ways that support both the mission and themselves?
Inside the Brian Chesky Airbnb Review Process
One major shift in the Brian Chesky Airbnb review model was frequency. Instead of waiting for an annual meeting, managers were encouraged to give feedback regularly and informally. Conversations replaced checklists.
Airbnb also scrapped forced rankings. The goal was no longer to weed out the bottom performers but to create environments where honest dialogue could lead to mutual improvement. If someone was struggling, the response wasn’t punishment. It was support and clarity.
This wasn’t about going soft. It was about going real. Reviews became a tool for trust building, not just accountability.
Why the Brian Chesky Airbnb Strategy Focuses on Impact
Remote work blurred the lines between effort, output, and presence. Chesky recognised that rewarding visibility or hustle culture no longer made sense. The Brian Chesky Airbnb approach emphasized impact over optics.
Managers began focusing on outcomes and values alignment. Was the work meaningful? Did it contribute to team success? Was the employee living Airbnb’s values in how they collaborated, solved problems, and made decisions?
Soft skills, often undervalued in traditional reviews, became central.
What Other Companies Can Learn
You don’t need Airbnb’s resources to learn from the Brian Chesky Airbnb model. The biggest shift is philosophical: treat reviews as a conversation about contribution, not compliance.
Companies of any size can implement these key changes: make feedback continuous rather than episodic, align reviews with values instead of just metrics, prioritise trust and psychological safety, and redefine performance to include emotional intelligence.
In a work culture forever changed by crisis, leaders must evolve with the people they serve. The companies that do this well won’t just retain talent, they will earn loyalty.
The Brian Chesky Airbnb model isn’t perfect, but it is proof that performance reviews can be more human, more helpful, and more honest.
