Patrick Robinson is Head of Public Policy for Airbnb in Europe and Canada. Based in London, he is responsible for leading a team of public affairs professionals who work with cities to open the door for new forms of tourism and educate policymakers about the huge potential of the “sharing economy” for sustainable economic and cultural growth.

Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects hosts with unique spaces in their homes with guests from around the world who are looking for unique local experiences. Founded in San Francisco in 2008, Airbnb now offers over 800,000 spaces in 190 countries across the globe, and has so far enabled the travels of over 20 million guests.

Patrick joined Airbnb after several years at Yahoo, most recently as Director of the company’s innovative global business and human rights programme, which leads the company’s efforts to protect and promote online free expression and privacy for its 800 million users worldwide.  He was previously Director of Public Policy in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Prior to joining Yahoo! he was Director of Communications for the Virgin Group’s UK television business, responsible for corporate and consumer public relations, public policy and regulatory compliance across a portfolio high-profile cable and satellite entertainment brands.

Between 2004 and 2006, Patrick was an adviser in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s public policy division, working on a range of issues concerning the renewal of the BBC’s royal charter (constitution). He initially joined the BBC in 2002 and spent two-and-a-half years living and working in Sarajevo on a BBC-led project to establish public service broadcasting in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project was funded by the UK government’s Department for International Development as part of the European Union’s strategic reconstruction and reform efforts in the country.

Patrick graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1997 with a first-class degree in Social and Political Sciences.