PROPERTY RENTAL WEBSITE Airbnb has announced that it is to double its workforce in Ireland, creating 100 new jobs.
The website allows users to rent out rooms, houses, and any other kind of property online.
The jobs will largely be mainly in its customer experience and hospitality teams, but roles will also be created in its HR, finance and legal departments.
Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton welcomed the announcement, saying the government is seeking to encourage more “born-on-the-internet” companies to locate in Ireland.
Many already have, such as Twitter, Google, and Facebook.
Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s co-founder and chief executive, said choosing to expand in Dublin was “a complete no-brainer” as Ireland is “the most hospitable country on the planet”.
Chesky said our low corporate tax rate “obviously wasn’t one of the first two or three considerations” examined by the company when deciding to locate its European headquarters in the capital.
He cited our hospitality and skilled workforce as factors that had a bigger influence, adding that the company was particularly looking for people who spoke two or three languages.
U2 frontman Bono, who met with the company earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said Airbnb are a “force to be reckoned with”:
Tech companies like these are training grounds for a smart and savvy workforce like ours.
He added that its important that jobs like these are created in order to retain “our best and brightest”.
The company opened its Hospitality Innovation Lab in Dublin last year, where it plans to “innovate on the customer experience”.
Airbnb could be valued at more than €7bn if current negotiations to raise capital are achieved.
With additional reporting by Órla Ryan
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say