Airbnb Emphasizes Its Host Community to Make Sleeping With Strangers Less Weird
Photo Credit: A screen grab of a scene in Tulum from Airbnb's "Never A Stranger" video. Airbnb
Skift Take
The biggest challenge for Airbnb is the idea that staying with a stranger is strange. So Airbnb is shining a brighter spotlight on its community of hosts worldwide to inject the brand perception with a more familial enthusiasm.
During the annual Airbnb Open 2015 conference in Paris last week, there was a clear shift toward a greater emphasis on the Airbnb host community as the primary value proposition for the brand.
In the past, much of the discussion around Airbnb's unique selling points has focused on the room sharing model's affordable price point and direct access to local neighborhoods.
The concept of community, however, connotes a certain level of trust, familiarity and security, which helps allay the uncomfortable nature of the guest experience for more conservative travelers who are unsure of staying with a stranger.
The sense of community surrounding Airbnb is becoming its greatest differentiator in the travel marketplace.
Moving forward, the company is prioritizing its ecosystem of hosts above everything else to both further cement its relationship with those hosts and address the concerns of people who haven't tried room sharing.
Chip Conley, head of hospitality at Airbn
