Airbnb unveils new Sydney office inspired by accommodation listings

Airbnb has unveiled its new Sydney office, home of its growing operation in Australia. From an entrance that resembles an AFL football field complete with nets and goal posts, to a secret meeting room concealed behind a bookcase, Airbnb’s new digs are inspired by their accommodation listings.

When it came time to design their Sydney office, like many global tech companies, Airbnb rejected conventional office styling in favour of a unique approach to creating spaces for their employees.

Local Sydney designers The Bold Collective were commissioned to design the space. The Bold Collective’s brief was to create a workplace that allowed the existing strong culture of the team to thrive through socialising and playfulness.

“Design is deeply embedded in Airbnb’s culture. Two of our co-founders are designers, and an appreciation of the power of design is in everything we do,” said Airbnb Australia Manager, Sam McDonagh. “This is reflected in the unique layout of all of Airbnb’s global offices. We were bursting at the seams of our old office, and this new space in Surry Hills inspires hosting and homeliness.”

“Our new Sydney office captures what we value as a company: creativity, travel, and thoughtful design. At the core of Airbnb is the connection between people and spaces, and we have created a unique layout that inspires our employees to move around and work from where ever they want. A bean bag; secret space behind a hidden door bookshelf; or perhaps a cosy Sweden listing room.”

“At Airbnb we want to create the sense of travel when we welcome people into our office,” said Sam McDonagh. “Simply having photos of listings and far off places is not enough, we want our employees and guests to experience the feeling you get when you travel. We’ve achieved this in all of our offices by creating rooms that are inspired by the most unique places you can stay at on Airbnb.

All Airbnb office meeting rooms are inspired by actual Airbnb listings. The Sydney team picked a Kangaroo Valley lounge, Havana dining room and a Swedish sitting room.

The Cuba room has a hidden entrance behind a swinging bookcase. Airbnb chose Cuba for design inspiration as Airbnb has recently began to operate in the country. This is the first Cuba-inspired room of any of the Airbnb offices worldwide.

The kitchen is inspired by Coogee Pavilion.

The lift doors open onto a stretch of astroturf with a quirky take on an AFL oval with goal posts and a designer net.

The ladies and men’s bathrooms have not been spared from the designers touch. The ladies is like stepping into Hollywood Regency, while the men’s is themed on a Gentleman’s club/whisky bar.

Mardi Gras shower rooms, including a floor to ceiling sized flamingo in one and giant pride flag in the other.