Airbnb and Lyft make key hires amid coronavirus pandemic

• Bunch will oversee Airbnb's customer service, trust and safety, and payments, and will report to CEO Brian Chesky. She is taking over some of the responsibilities of former chief operating officer Belinda Johnson, who left late last year. 
• Brandenburger, who spent several years at Lyft before a brief recent stint at Airbnb, will report to chief policy officer (and ex-Transportation secretary) Anthony Foxx. She will lead the company's new Safety Advisory Council and initially focus on COVID-19-related safety issues. 

Between the lines: The coronavirus pandemic has raised the stakes when it comes to making customers feel safe and comfortable. Sharing economy companies, such as Airbnb and Lyft, will have to find ways to convince customers their services are safe, while not imposing such severe standards on hosts and drivers that they abandon work.