Toxic - Anonymous employee Airbnb Employee Review

2.0
Mar 12, 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great Pay + Benefits Interesting Industry Potential to work on really cool projects

Cons

Culture Culture Culture They take themselves way too seriously and there is no margin for error. The environment is toxic, oftentimes speaking to people in disrespectful and rude tones. I was literally screamed at and spoken down to as if I was nothing. It's very much decision by committee, but the most popular person - not the best idea - wins. I cannot tell you how many times I would advocate for something, have my idea turned down only for leaders to present it as their own idea just a few months later. Work/Life balance doesn't exist. Because everyone is remote, they expect you to be available at any and all hours. My boss literally emailed me on Christmas and New Years Eve. It.Never.Stopped. And they would share a firehose of documentation, rarely with context, and by the time you had a chance to review any of it they would have already moved onto the next thing with a whole new set of disorganized documentation - then in the same breath talk about needing to streamline all the documentation. It was like a fire drill orchestrated by an executive with ADHD every single day. Truly maddening. They work incredibly fast paced - which can be a great thing - except they don't ever have moments of thoughtful reflection and/or planning to ensure that the work they're so diligently focused on getting out the door is 1) done well or 2) the right thing to be spending resources on in the first place. They pivot so often, you spend most of your time planning, no time deploying, only to have the plans thrown out. For being a digitally native company, it's really sad how little they actually understand about digital best practices and getting data on anything is like pulling teeth.

Explore other reviews about Airbnb

5.0
Jun 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Good time working there lots of cool people

Cons

overly-design-led, constant changing priorities based on whims from global leads

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Airbnb's mission of creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere strongly resonates with me. I'm excited by the opportunity to build products that operate at global scale and directly impact millions of users. My background in full-stack engineering, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and AI-powered applications aligns well with Airbnb's focus on innovation, reliability, and exceptional user experiences. I am particularly attracted to Airbnb's engineering culture, emphasis on ownership, and commitment to solving complex technical challenges while delivering meaningful value to hosts, guests, and communities worldwide.

Cons

One challenge of working at Airbnb is the complexity that comes with operating a global platform at scale. Engineering teams must balance reliability, performance, compliance, and user experience across many markets and stakeholders. While this can make development and decision-making more complex, it is also one of the aspects that makes the work technically interesting and professionally rewarding.

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