Airbnb creates ad touting kindness of strangers
SAN FRANCISCO – Airbnb's most high profile ad campaign to date hopes to turn a potential vice – that uneasy feeling many of us get when staying with strangers – into an income-generating virtue.
Using the tagline "Never a stranger," the sharing-economy company's ad debuts tonight during NBC's The Voice, with subsequent prime-time airings in coming weeks and runs in the United Kingdom and Australia.
It stars a real Airbnb frequent-traveler who goes by Ellie, a New Yorker by way of Brazil who is shown romping around five global capitals with hosts who made her stays there memorable.
"When I booked this trip, my friends said I was crazy, why would I stay in someone else's house?" Ellie says in kicking off the voiceover, as New York scenes give way to Paris, Tokyo and Tulum, Mexico. "But this morning, a city I've never been to felt like one I already knew."
In addition to the ad, Airbnb has created a companion microsite where visitors can learn more about the hosts and businesses featured in the spot.
"We have a fantastic retention rate once people start using us, so the real mission was to make more and more people both aware of and comfortable with us," Airbnb chief marketing officer Jonathan Mildenhall tells USA TODAY.
"Most people either aren't aware of who we are or think we're an online retail property site" such as HomeAway or VRBO, says Mildenhall. "We're trying to raise awareness of the fact that to travel the world as a local is the superlative experience."
Clearly some travelers have already gotten that message, as Airbnb's rise is rivaled only by that of ride-hailing giant Uber. Funding rounds last year placed its value at $10 billion, and reports a few months ago of an alleged $1 billion round would value the company at $20 billion, about half of Uber.
Founded by Brian Chesky in 2008, Airbnb's ramp up has come mainly in the last four years with guest numbers shooting up from 1 million to 30 million.
Growth hasn't come without hurdles. The company continues to face regulatory challenges typified by its ongoing battle with New York, where officials contend than nearly 75% of Airbnb rentals were illegal due to city zoning laws which forbid rentals of fewer than 30 days unless the occupant is on the premises.
Mildenhall says that while some travelers prefer to book a property and meet the local host only for a key exchange, the heart of Airbnb's consumer proposition boils down to providing friendly local help that happens to come with lodging.
"We want to allow people truly immersive experiences around the world," he says, noting that the company now has about 1 million lodging listings on its site. "If we can use this tent-pole media (advertising) opportunity to build awareness of that fact, then we can drive a sustainable business."
Despite saturating traditional and online media with the spot, the subtext of the ad is Ellie reading letters she has written her global hosts. Though it would seem like a contrivance in our digital age, Mildenhall says the idea came from reality.
"We are seeing this fascinating trend of our users sending hosts these personal hand-written notes of thanks," he says. "It's not a behavior we could have remotely anticipated, so we had to put it in there. It's part of feeling connected to people."