Airbnb Taps a Former Disney Theme Park Exec to Run Its Experiences Business
Photo Credit: An Airbnb Experience in New York City. Airbnb hired Catherine Powell to head Airbnb Experiences. Airbnb
Skift Take
Experiences could become a big business for Airbnb, but a cautionary note is that competition from venture-backed companies is heating up. The sector leader, Tripadvisor, just took a step back to reboot its experiences strategy while laying off employees.
Airbnb is turning to a former Walt Disney Co. theme park president, who abruptly left the company in September in a shakeup, to lead its Experiences business.
Catherine Powell, a Disney veteran who most recently served as president of Disney Parks Western Region, including Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris, replaces Joe Zadeh as head of Airbnb Experiences. Zadeh, who led this Airbnb's tours and activities business from its launch in 2016, transitioned out of the post, and is now chief stakeholder officer.
Powell's position
