Velma Corcoran
Velma has been with Airbnb for over three years. In addition to overseeing the African business she is responsible for spearheading initiatives like The Africa Travel Summit and The Airbnb Africa Academy aimed at encouraging healthy tourism and promoting entrepreneurship in rural and under-resourced communities across the continent. She also launched Airbnb Experiences in Cape Town and Nairobi, two of the first 12 launch cities for Airbnb in 2016. Prior to Airbnb she headed up marketing at Cape Town Tourism where Velma and her team won numerous awards for destination marketing leadership and a Cannes Gold for their "Send your Facebook Profile to Cape Town" campaign. Velma has also worked extensively in South Africa and the U.K, initially as an advertising account director and later as a brand strategist for companies like Yellowwood Future Architects; Lowe London and the Jupiter Drawing Room. She started the Cape Town office of OIL (a brand strategy and research consultancy within Lowe Worldwide stable) in 2008.
Her personal philosophy, integrity and passion have earned her the respect of her peers and she is widely regarded as a trusted thought leader in the tourism and technology space. She is passionate about how Airbnb can build a model for more inclusive tourism on the African Continent.
Velma has been with Airbnb for over three years. In addition to overseeing the African business she is responsible for spearheading initiatives like The Africa Travel Summit and The Airbnb Africa Academy aimed at encouraging healthy tourism and promoting entrepreneurship in rural and under-resourced communities across the continent. She also launched Airbnb Experiences in Cape Town and Nairobi, two of the first 12 launch cities for Airbnb in 2016. Prior to Airbnb she headed up marketing at Cape Town Tourism where Velma and her team won numerous awards for destination marketing leadership and a Cannes Gold for their "Send your Facebook Profile to Cape Town" campaign. Velma has also worked extensively in South Africa and the U.K, initially as an advertising account director and later as a brand strategist for companies like Yellowwood Future Architects; Lowe London and the Jupiter Drawing Room. She started the Cape Town office of OIL (a brand strategy and research consultancy within Lowe Worldwide stable) in 2008.
Her personal philosophy, integrity and passion have earned her the respect of her peers and she is widely regarded as a trusted thought leader in the tourism and technology space. She is passionate about how Airbnb can build a model for more inclusive tourism on the African Continent.