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OK I'll bite. Airbnb is a website. A hard-to-navigate, overproduced one, but it's still basically just a website coupled to a database. And it's not even as com

OK I'll bite. Airbnb is a website. A hard-to-navigate, overproduced one, but it's still basically just a website coupled to a database. And it's not even as complex as Uber's because it doesn't need realtime GPS tracking of anything. Why does Airbnb need a "tech hub?"

Naac 6y ago
Sounds like a good systems design interview question. Design an Airbnb like website operating globally. I think going through this exercise will show it's more than "just a website"
- dreamcompiler 6y ago
  Most major companies have to build a high reliability, highly-scalable website operating globally. Lots of people know how to build these things [except of course for contractors that the US federal government hires], and most of them don't have "tech hubs" in any major city unless they're ... you know ... actual tech companies. Why do we consider a glorified hotel company like Airbnb a tech company? Just because YC invested in them?
  - ttesttom 6y ago
    How is a company that is an entirely online marketplace with no physical property not a 'tech company'?
Guest42 6y ago
Agreed, meanwhile large banks do things that are technically incredible but get seen as boring.
- stevenhuang 6y ago
  Such as?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - segmondy 6y ago
    moving billions of dollars daily with csv, tsv fixed-width files and sftp. /s
    - Guest42 6y ago
      Petabytes upon petabytes, and it has to be correct, really well archived, and set up for reporting, stats, and ad hoc
- dreamcompiler 6y ago
  Exactly my point. I'd venture to guess that Marriott (another hotel company that actually owns their properties and thus arguably has more at stake) has a tech stack vastly more complicated than Airbnb's, and yet Marriott would never announce they're building a "tech hub" in any city.
  - bpicolo 6y ago
    I think you are probably overestimating how enterprise does tech. Subcontracting, consultancies are the name of the game
    - Guest42 6y ago
      For me at least, I found banking to be incredible, teams of DBAs managing very expensive database servers to perfection and high scale web apps that almost always work correctly
rdsubhas 6y ago
Complexity != Importance. Airbnb is investing in their business, in what they believe (and they probably know from their numbers) will grow their future. They don't have to rationalize it only if there is complexity involved.
smileysteve 6y ago
> Why does Airbnb need a "tech hub?" To agree on different grounds; They had some remote employees before; have had some remote employees (awkwardly, as an exception while promoting remote work), and will have been all remote for 1.5 years by August. Will this actually hire jobs in the area? Or is it going to be a reserve office for occasional team building events that is located near a major airport.
pineconewarrior 6y ago
Maybe they don't "need" one, but they have contributed in a very meaningful way to the web dev community so I feel that this is a harsh take. Check out Lottie, Mavericks, and their contributions to the React ecosystem.
- dreamcompiler 6y ago
  You're asking the wrong guy; I consider React one of the worst mistakes in technology, and it's the main reason Airbnb's website sucks (I speak as a superhost who has to use the thing a lot).
  - kgin 6y ago
    How does react connect to your experience using the site as a host?
  - yerwhat01010 6y ago
    I agree that AirBnB's website sucks, but why do you think this is caused by them using React?
izgzhen 6y ago
Data that airbnb owns values much more than their website stuff. And you need tech people in ML and data areas to manage and use these data effectively.

Naac 6y ago

Sounds like a good systems design interview question. Design an Airbnb like website operating globally. I think going through this exercise will show it's more than "just a website"

dreamcompiler 6y ago
Most major companies have to build a high reliability, highly-scalable website operating globally. Lots of people know how to build these things [except of course for contractors that the US federal government hires], and most of them don't have "tech hubs" in any major city unless they're ... you know ... actual tech companies. Why do we consider a glorified hotel company like Airbnb a tech company? Just because YC invested in them?
- ttesttom 6y ago
  How is a company that is an entirely online marketplace with no physical property not a 'tech company'?

Guest42 6y ago

Agreed, meanwhile large banks do things that are technically incredible but get seen as boring.

stevenhuang 6y ago
Such as?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- segmondy 6y ago
  moving billions of dollars daily with csv, tsv fixed-width files and sftp. /s
  - Guest42 6y ago
    Petabytes upon petabytes, and it has to be correct, really well archived, and set up for reporting, stats, and ad hoc
dreamcompiler 6y ago
Exactly my point. I'd venture to guess that Marriott (another hotel company that actually owns their properties and thus arguably has more at stake) has a tech stack vastly more complicated than Airbnb's, and yet Marriott would never announce they're building a "tech hub" in any city.
- bpicolo 6y ago
  I think you are probably overestimating how enterprise does tech. Subcontracting, consultancies are the name of the game
  - Guest42 6y ago
    For me at least, I found banking to be incredible, teams of DBAs managing very expensive database servers to perfection and high scale web apps that almost always work correctly

rdsubhas 6y ago

Complexity != Importance. Airbnb is investing in their business, in what they believe (and they probably know from their numbers) will grow their future. They don't have to rationalize it only if there is complexity involved.

smileysteve 6y ago

> Why does Airbnb need a "tech hub?" To agree on different grounds; They had some remote employees before; have had some remote employees (awkwardly, as an exception while promoting remote work), and will have been all remote for 1.5 years by August. Will this actually hire jobs in the area? Or is it going to be a reserve office for occasional team building events that is located near a major airport.

pineconewarrior 6y ago

Maybe they don't "need" one, but they have contributed in a very meaningful way to the web dev community so I feel that this is a harsh take. Check out Lottie, Mavericks, and their contributions to the React ecosystem.

dreamcompiler 6y ago
You're asking the wrong guy; I consider React one of the worst mistakes in technology, and it's the main reason Airbnb's website sucks (I speak as a superhost who has to use the thing a lot).
- kgin 6y ago
  How does react connect to your experience using the site as a host?
- yerwhat01010 6y ago
  I agree that AirBnB's website sucks, but why do you think this is caused by them using React?

izgzhen 6y ago

Data that airbnb owns values much more than their website stuff. And you need tech people in ML and data areas to manage and use these data effectively.