For its third annual conference on hospitality, Airbnb hit it big ! This year the Airbnb Open took place between November 17 and 19 in Los Angeles, more precisely on Broadway St. in downtown LA.

To host the event, which was designed as a get-together festival for 6 000 hosts from all over the world, Airbnb reserved four grandiose theaters, which hosted presentations by the founders Brian Chesky, Nate Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia, by the Strategy Director Chip Conley,and by other speakers. Among them the only Frenchie, yours hostly: Katia Blanchard!

On November 19 I was invited by Airbnb, for the second year in a row, to get on stage and present my secret sauce on interior design for rentals - this time inside the famous 1650-seat Ace Theatre. My speech, titled "Interior design tips : give your rental a personal and unique touch",provided tips and advice for hosts, to help them make their rental stand out. 

In fact, as a BnbStaging consultant, I keep noticing that more and more hosts tend to completely de-personalize their apartments or houses, to standardize them as if they were hotel rooms. However, guests and travellers seek authenticity and character in a rental, in order to make them feel "at home". My presentation, which concluded the Open, first focused on the fundamentals of interior design, and then proposed a number of original and easy-to-do ideas to customize and instill personality in a home.

Katia Blanchard, Interior designer and BnbStaging consultant, on the stage of the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles during the 2016 Airbnb Open

AIRBNB OPEN, LOS ANGELES, 2016

For the second consecutive year, I was invited by Airbnb to be part of its annual Airbnb Open. The hospitality festival took place in downtown Los Angeles between November 17 and 19, and I was on stage in  the amazing Ace Theatre. Learn more...

YOURWELCOME, LONDON, 2016

On September 27, the YourWelcome team invited me to their mini hosting festival in London. The conference gathered many hosts in St Pancras tower and was broadcast live on Facebook. Learn more...

AIRBNB OPEN, PARIS, 2015

It's in the french capital, Paris, that Airbnb organized its second Airbnb Open on November 11-12. During this conference I conducted two workshops on interior design. Learn more...

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The second annual Airbnb hospitality conference took place on the 11^th and 12^th November, 2015. The event, Airbnb Open, gathered 5 000 hosts from 110 countries and brought them together at La Grande Halle of la Villette in Paris. There were two days of member meetings, talks from founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nate Blecharczyk as well as Strategy Director, Chip Conley. There was also a series of workshops which I was honoured to participate in as a speaker!

Indeed, I was one of two French people asked to go on stage as Host Educators. As a consultant in interior design for seasonal rentals with BnbStaging, the workshop that I conducted, in English, was entitled "How interior design can boost guest satisfaction and revenue"

  Katia Blanchard's workshop, Airbnb Open 2015

Nearly 500 hosts signed up to learn how to improve their rental’s comfort, generate better comments and boost their incomethrough an interior design that has the traveller in mind. This session, held at the Paul Delouvrier Pavilion, notably covered ideas for decoration, tips on organization and storage, advice on design and segmentation of space, guidance on colour choices and lighting, and reminders of essential equipment.

"As an interior design consultant, Katia specializes in rental interiors

and gives practical advice for creating a sense of wellbeing in your home”

Airbnb

The wait is over! You can now download the 2015 Airbnb Open’s mobile app that will allow you to make your own schedule for the event.

Airbnb’s yearly convention will be held in Paris for the first time. Close to 6000 hosts are expected to participate from the 12^th to the 14^th of November at Parc de la Villette.

Paris is henceforth the global capital of rental between individuals with more than 40 000 Parisian accommodations listed on Airbnb.