Airbnb Marketing Strategies: Revolutionizing Way We Stay and Explore

Want to travel someplace exotic, and you’re looking for the most affordable and accessible homes to stay at? Look no further! 🕶️

For every travel geek in the world has heard of and drumroll 🥁

Airbnb!

The most preferred online marketplace for vacation bookings, this household name is a savior for those who want to stay traveling while saving some money. 👍

Do you also wonder how a rental-perfect place to stay became one of the go-to destinations to get a place to stay at? 🏠

You aren’t the only one. ✈️

Read all about the marketing strategies of Airbnb right below 🔽

But first, let’s look at how the brand came into being 📜

Airbnb’s History in Short

In 2007, two house hosts brought over three guests to their home in San Fransisco. ☀️

In August of 2008, the Airbed and Breakfast website was launched, which saw over 80 bookings. This was due to a Democratic Convention happening at the same time. ✨

Alongside the website, their platform Payments was also launched, which processed host transactions in 40+ currencies. 💰

In November 2010, they launched the app, which featured an Instant Book category and a German office which allowed the organization to make global footprints! 👣

In December 2020, Airbnb became a publicly traded company and became a global behemoth.

What started as two hosts went on to grow into 4 million house hosts. As of 2023, there are 6 million plus listings of homes on the app! 📲

QUICK TRIVIA 🧠: Airbnb is the shortened form of the larger name of the app, which expands as AirBedandBreakfast.com

Marketing strategies of Airbnb ➕

Through unique segmentation and positioning, Airbnb has managed to capture a great market, though the home listing industry doesn’t have intense competitive key players. 📑

They invest in user experience as well as community making them win on two fronts. The consumer front as well as the collective front. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Airbnb is also committed to brand identity as they continually make efforts to ramp up the identity and vision of the brand both internally as well as in an external sense with what is happening in the travel world and geographical communities where they are present. 🗺️

Let us look at some of the strategies that have reeled in success for the brand. 📈

Unique brand identity 🎯

Airbnb’s logo, also known as the Belo, is a case study in itself! ⭐

It is interesting to note that what started as a side hustle for the founders grew to become a multi-billion dollar venture with a great brand identity that combined the following elements ☝️

People, places, love, and Airbnb. 💌

Their logo was an amalgamation of the above specifics that made Airbnb what it is. This was a great paradigm shift in the identity of the brand and supported the massive expansion it was charing all around the world. 💗

Building a community 🎭

Airbnb segments its target audience into two halves. ✔️

One is the category that uses the app to book accommodations, and one is the category that looks for an advertising platform where they can host their living spaces. 🏡

For hosts, Airbnb uses outreach and community to share how community members can make a great side income from a partnership with Airbnb 🤝

For the general customers, they look at the more organic strategy that is user generated and also depends on social media. ➕

User-generated content 🤳

User-generated content is one of the most solid strategies that is used by Airbnb. The majority of social media of Airbnb involves hosts uploading great pictures and social media testimonials. 👏

People sharing content involves valuable ways to save money on costs while maintaining a great reputation for the company itself. 🏆

Other users will engage with and relate to the pictures and content, and it supplements their social media growth. 👍

Referral Programs 📢

Airbnb has seen massive success through its referral programs. 📊

Though it terminated recently, since its inception, it saw about a 900% increase in traction and growth in bookings when the program existed. 📈

They provided referral success to both the person who was giving and receiving the approach.

After a lot of A/B testing, this program was rolled out, and users made full use of it. 🎟️

All digital 📵

Airbnb provides software as a service, and this is one of its strong suits. As a service provider, they operate in an all-digital system with no physical presence. 🗝️

No physical presence allows Airbnb to cut costs while maintaining low prices and improving its customer experience to its best. 📞

With this, they can also have a great user interface and experience. 📶

Content marketing as growth 🔍

Content and digital marketing are foolproof methods of winning as a business. Airbnb focuses on the experience and showing the uniqueness that both hosts and visitors have felt. 🏗️

Through its advertorial content and its videos and blogs, Airbnb markets a great authentic experience selling its services. ➕

Influencer marketing 🔋

Another great digital marketing strategy is influencer marketing. ⛳

Celebrities and influencers collaborate with Airbnb to post the places they visit and their luxurious stays. When these high-profile influencers talk of their stay, they tend to reach new audiences as well. 🔊

Increased website and better lead generation are the results of influencer marketing. 🕸️

Top Listings of Airbnb 🛒

Airbnb Hostel Accommodations

Are you looking to travel as a group and share rooms with multiple people? The Hostel and Shared Room accommodation option that Airbnb offers is one of the most preferred stay options for this specific type of traveler.

Airbnb Unique

Airbnb Unique is an experience-based stay option that allows people to choose a stay option that offers an experience out of the ordinary. This includes igloos and tiny homes, among many other out-of-the-ordinary options.

Airbnb Hotels

Along with host listings, professional hospitality providers list their hotels on Airbnb as well. Great prices on hotels and hospitality can be chosen from this option.

Airbnb Luxe

This is the luxury segment of the listings. Over the years, Airbnb has included luxury hotels offering the most luxurious stay options for people who wish to live in the platform’s best rental options.

Airbnb Plus

Airbnb Plus has a roster of homes and listings which are verified. It may be helpful to call them a premium tier of listings that are verified to provide great comfort and ease of stay. It is inspired by and includes some of the most exceptional stays the platform can offer.

Airbnb Bungalows

A classic Airbnb choice is the bungalow. From classic cottage bungalows to colonial-style options, these listings are often chosen as a staycation choice. It can be a luxury retreat option at the heart of various locations.

Airbnb Lofts

A loft is a luxury cottage with luxurious views. The loft options can be the typical American style architecturally designed to be spacious and well-designed. They could also have a vintage touch to them, depending on the listing.

Airbnb Villas

A villa is often the perfect destination for a luxurious holiday stay. Sometimes with a lush garden and great aesthetics, the Villa is a hit among those who wish to get away on a luxurious stay.

Airbnb Shared Rooms

Shared rooms are when the person accepting the listing does not mind sharing their space with someone else. A private but accessible space where sharing options can be made clear in the terms and conditions is how the hosts list in this type of listing.

Airbnb Earth Houses and Tree Houses

Another trailblazer of unique experiences, Airbnb offers tree houses and earth houses that help connect with nature and tend to be uniquely placed in the wilderness. Their strategic locations provide a great view of the surroundings as well.

Airbnb Marketing Mix 4P Analysis

Product 🏘️

The first winner of the product strategy of Airbnb is their all-digital offering and great user experience. A functioning and seamless experience in booking, listing, and rating is their primary priority and drives success for their product.

The second winner is the segmentation of their product to both segments, which are the ones listing their homes and those who are looking for a listed home to live in or spend their vacation at.

Place 🗺️

With a presence in over 220 countries and regions across the world, Airbnb has a great location strategy on its side. Their highly local network and marketing strategy plays a large role in making them one of the best in the location listing business.

Their place strategy is phenomenal! As geographical location and travel go hand in hand.

Price 💰

Airbnb offers a cascade sort of pricing where different listings, according to the location they are placed at and the type of house being brought in, are highly differentiated.

This allows customers to choose their preferred choice according to their budget and affordability. This differentiation allows them to be a market leader as well.

Promotion 📢

Airbnb uses primary promotional strategies like organic Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media options where they can post the testimonials of hostellers as well as listers.

Other than this, they also develop promotional strategies in the form of campaigns and advertorial campaigns as well as app partnerships. This allows them to gain a larger customer base as well.

Airbnb’s Top Campaigns

2017 ‘We Accept’ Campaign

At a time when some listers on Airbnb were not accepting certain tenants based on their race, the We Accept campaign was floated to show that Airbnb does not discriminate.

No matter where the users were from, whether immigrant or not, irrespective of where they lived or what religion they followed, Airbnb accepted them. The brand featured a 30-second video to lend support towards this step as well.

“Acceptance starts with us.” Said the video.

The Rebranding of Airbnb

Airbnb officially rebranded itself by rolling out its new logo Belo. This logo was seen to be an amalgamation of several elements, which created a sense of belonging. It included people, places, love, and of course, Airbnb.

They reimagined what Airbnb is as a brand and wishes to propagate.

‘Live There’ Campaign

The Live There campaign reimagined what traveling looks like for those who love to globetrot and inspired them to reimagine the entire experience of what traveling is. The traditional campaign seeks to completely transform what a travel experience means.

Quick fact 🧠: The brand is active in 97.95% of the world. This means that Airbnb can be found in every single country on Earth except for a selected few.

‘Step One to Guest One’ Campaign

In this 15-second TV Commercial, Airbnb portrayed a simple minimalist video that took the watchers from the first step of setting up to getting your first guest checked in.

In a simple graphic experience, it explains with clarity how you can Airbnb it and have a seamless experience from app setup until the guest signs up.

Key takeaway 🔑

Airbnb is no doubt a famous name in the hospitality sector and continues to turn heads and sign up customers in large numbers.

If you are curious about how they build such a rapport for themselves and continue to make a mark in the global sphere, this article would’ve given you a guide into some of the strategies they employ.

Airbnb thus stays ahead of the curve with a constant effort to be one of the favored platforms for vacation choices and destination planning.

FAQs

Where did the name Airbnb originate from?

The name Airbnb is a shortened format of the full domain that stands for airbednbreakfast, which served as the original website when the organization started.

How does Airbnb uniquely position itself?

By organic social media marketing strategy. And targeting the different groups of customers, whether they choose to list or live in, is another successful marketing strategy that the brand employs.

How did Airbnb sustain its growth over time?

With continuous upkeep of the industry and dynamic upkeep of the brand and its vision, they have sustained growth over time.

Campaigns that keep up with the ongoing social issues and tend to create community are also great examples of why the brand tends to succeed in the hospitality segment.