The Company Overview
As an American marketplace and hospitality platform dedicated to providing homestays for tourists and travellers, Airbnb is a brand that has successfully established itself as a key player in the travel and tourism industry.
The company was founded in 2008, and later it grow into a global community, helping travellers seeking a place to stay to book places of accommodation with the help of their services.
Business Model of Airbnb
The business model of Airbnb is quite interesting. Actually, the company does not own any property (according to current data available; the company might plan to build their own places of accommodation in the future) and yet is amongst the largest accommodation providers in America.
Airbnb enables property owners to list their property on the brand’s website to earn revenue by renting it out. Travellers looking for accommodation can choose the place of stay from the list on the Airbnb website. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The platform offers a wide range of accommodation options, including houses, apartments, villas, treehouses, and more.
Digital Marketing Model of Airbnb
Responsive Website:
- The website design & development team took a great effort in developing a responsive design that enabled easy booking and sales.
- The website showcased the best-quality images, a host of personalization features, essential info like product info and supplier info, availability and all other features that enabled easy booking and also enhanced the customer experience.
Paid Search Marketing:
- By investing in paid search marketing, the company was able to capture a good number of website visitors, like one website visitor for every two visitors from organic searches.
- Their ad copies reflected the uniqueness of their brand. They also gave importance to keywords, landing pages and call to action.
Email Marketing:
- By keeping factors like bookings, sales and reservations in mind, Airbnb leveraged the potential of email marketing to attract users and prompt them to book their accommodation.
Search Engine Optimization:
- Airbnb’s attempt to draw visitors through organic traffic was a great success. By leveraging Search Engine Optimization strategies, they attracted the audiences, especially by ranking for words like “accommodation”.
- They optimized their whole website to compete against other top industry players.
Social Media Marketing:
- As more than 50% of travellers finalize their travel destinations through social media, Airbnb utilized various social media channels as a part of their marketing strategy to gain new customers and increase sales.
- The company has managed to reach millions of like on Facebook.
- The Instagram profile of the company is widely popular among younger audiences. It inspires potential travellers by showcasing a wide variety of travel destinations to explore.
- Airbnb’s YouTube channel features various tourist spots and this contributed to improving their conversions.
Brand Partnerships:
- Airbnb has successfully partnered with some great players in the industry and showed many times that partnering with other brands can have a positive impact on brand value and improve sales.
Influencer Marketing:
- Collaborating with influencers was another great decision taken by the company. As many people get widely influenced by popular personalities like celebrities, journalists, YouTubers, bloggers, Instagrammers etc, influencer marketing is a great way to increase reach and improve brand value.
Google Ratings:
- The marketing strategies have helped the company to earn good Google ratings. Airbnb has also focused on getting good Google reviews.
- Sending feedback forms to the customers after their vacations and providing them with good services helped the company earn good ratings and reviews.
Blogs and Storytelling:
- Airbnb has its own blogging site, an informatory repository for travellers.
- The brand has also provided a stories section on the website. It is dedicated to motivating travellers to travel the world with Airbnb.
Referral Marketing:
- Airbnb has always encouraged its existing users to invite new users via email. They have offered rewards to referrers in the form of travel credits.
Key Takeaway
Airbnb’s digital marketing strategy shows us how providing valuable content and enhancing user experience can drive engagement and conversions. By focusing on the needs of its audience, the brand utilized effective digital marketing strategies to boost sales and business growth.