Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky dedicates three hours daily to recruitment

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has significantly altered his daily routine to prioritize recruitment, dedicating approximately three hours every day to the hiring process. Despite managing a company valued at $98 billion with over 8,200 employees, Chesky has moved away from delegating hiring entirely to human resources and direct managers.

Chesky views himself as a “co-hiring manager” for his direct reports and their subordinates. His strategy is based on long-term succession planning; he believes that because successors are often chosen from the tier immediately below a retiring executive, those hires must be philosophically aligned with his leadership. He has stated that if managers find his involvement creates too much tension or if they require total autonomy from his oversight, they should leave the company.

This shift in management style was inspired by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who advised Chesky that hiring should constitute roughly half of an executive's responsibilities. Previously, Chesky noted that recruitment accounted for less than 10% of his schedule.