I do not fully understand how I became so focused on working specifically at Airbnb after leading projects across business, government, research, and international organizations, yet it is true. The more I study Airbnb, the clearer it becomes that this is where my passion for tourism, experience, and product truly belongs. Over the past years, I have gone deep into Airbnb’s mission, values, products, and culture—and I am ready to make every effort to join, even starting without compensation until I prove my value.
The Airbnb Difference
- Belong Anywhere: Airbnb is not about accommodation; it is about belonging, connection, and experience, which perfectly matches how I have studied, designed, and measured guest experience for years.
- Experience-first company: Airbnb designs products around emotions, trust, and meaning, not just efficiency or transactions, which is exactly how I think about tourism and hospitality.
- Product impact at scale: Decisions made at Airbnb shape how millions of people travel, host, and interact worldwide, and that scale of impact is deeply motivating to me.
- Research and experimentation: Airbnb values data, experimentation, and learning through testing, which aligns with my research-driven mindset.
- Innovation and disruption: Airbnb continuously redefines categories, from stays to experiences, from trust to community, and I am drawn to building what does not yet exist.
- Cross-functional product culture: Product at Airbnb lives at the intersection of design, data, engineering, trust, and community, which fits my interdisciplinary background.
- Ownership: I prefer full ownership of problems, from discovery to execution, which is core to Airbnb’s product philosophy.
- Global and cultural diversity: Airbnb operates across cultures, destinations, and behaviors, matching my international experience and curiosity.
- Human-centered technology: Airbnb uses technology to amplify human connection, not replace it, which I strongly believe in.
- Design-led soul: Airbnb is one of the few companies where design is not just a department but the fundamental lens through which every product decision is made.
- Trust as a product: Airbnb successfully productized trust between strangers, creating a global community that would have been unimaginable two decades ago.
What I Bring to Airbnb
- Guest experience research: I conducted extensive experimental research on how listing attributes influence guest experience and booking intentions during and after COVID, and I am confident I can introduce new, testable insights to optimize the first-time guest journey (e.g., https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2021-1508).
- Host-focused education: I delivered numerous workshops and presentations for property owners and associations of property managers, translated research into practical improvements, and collected deep feedback from both hosts and guests (e.g., https://youtu.be/bbLgSTzlZNM).
- Thought leadership: I published multiple books on tourism and hospitality, including Booking Experience, where I explain how photos, colors, host behavior, and property features shape guest experience and drive frictionless first bookings (e.g., https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFYZ9J26).
- Top-tier education: I earned a PhD in Hospitality Management from the world’s #1 ranked program and graduated with the top academic achievement in that program (e.g., https://graduate.ucf.edu/profile/maksim-godovykh).
- Experience expertise: I studied the nature of experience and guest experience deeply enough that my definition and explanation are cited by Wikipedia and major tourism encyclopedias (e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_experience).
- Measurement innovation: I developed innovative tools to measure and enhance experiences using interaction data, perception instruments, and psychophysiological responses (e.g., https://www.emerald.com/books/edited-volume/15485/chapter-abstract/86691298/Measuring-Affective-Components-of-Customer).
- Technology and experimentation: I built technology solutions for measuring and experimenting with guest experience and won multiple contests with these tools (e.g., https://www.godovykh.com/2022/02/09/global-hospitality-challenge/).
- Industry immersion: I organized 300+ major events, owned tourism companies, developed tourism incentive programs, and analyzed the experiences of thousands of guests (e.g., https://www.mpi.org/media/blog/articles/article/new-book-offering-event-evaluation-insights-launches-at-imex-america).
- Growth and Visibility: I combine a deep understanding of marketplace dynamics with a passion for SEO/GEO and AI-powered discovery to ensure more guests find Airbnb and convert into loyal community members.
- Execution strength: And I bring creativity, speed, strong analytical thinking, stress resilience, and reliability.
I believe this is enough self-praise. To sum up, I live tourism, dream about experience, and see Airbnb as the most meaningful and impactful disruptor in this space. I am ready to take any steps needed to earn a chance to work at Airbnb and prove my motivation, fit, and value. If anyone can help me join, please do!