Marketing In the News ~ Airbnb Uses Platform to Support People Fleeing Ukraine

Airbnb, a company that values "turning travel into a way of life", has changed the traveling experience since it's launch by reinventing the preexisting idea that traveling doesn't have to be expensive. If you're not familiar with the service yourself, I'm sure you have a friend that is, and could vouch for the simplistic user-friendly process involved. 

The business model of Airbnb has never failed to impress me, acting as a transactional facilitator between community hosts and displaced travelers to entertain the demand for affordable accommodation. The reason this matter speaks to me specifically is not only because of the impact the company has been able to make to literally save human lives in real time, but more in-line with this class, it's how the company is able to manipulate they're business structure in efforts to help alleviate the largest refugee crisis since World War II while promoting their brand.

In the NPR article "People are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine", an experience from an Airbnb host's point of view is shared describing the initial basic thought of helping someone overseas and how they were able to turn that desire into action. Recently Airbnb has launched a social media campaign in which they shed light on the ability their platform has to help refugees struggling to make their next move after being forced to flee their homes. While Airbnb obviously cannot force their host's to open their doors to those in need, they've publicly offered to comp the short-term housing of up to 100,000 of those fleeing Ukraine. People that are willing and wanting to help are able to sign-up to host or donate to the cause online at Airbnb.org. 

The value proposition of this company enforces the idea to "feel at home anywhere you go in the world" by establishing connections with local hosts, as well as acquiring a means of entry to especial destination lifestyles. With the events transpiring in Ukraine, Airbnb plans to capitalize on the opportunity to promote their platform by targeting the kind-hearted people who want to contribute to helping the Ukrainian communities but aren't quite sure how. Airbnb has achieved a well constructed website that allows users to easily navigate to where they want to go, highlighting the options: "Donate" and "Help people fleeing Ukraine". 

With the mass volume of customers and consumers, Airbnb's biggest challenge is upholding a respectable reputation as a third party member. Trust has posed to be an issue as the company continues to grow, despite the provision of insurance. Profiles and user reviews help to create rapport and assurance among the participants of the marketplace. Airbnb greets this challenge by urging customers to reach out to hosts prior to their experience with them, in order to communicate any questions one may have. In theory, this will address potential concerns and smooth over both parties experiences resulting in a positive interaction between the customer and the company.

The combination of relevance and impact is what makes this movement such an inspiring message to be apart of. Now more than ever, humans are becoming more reliant on the good faith of others in order to create a better world around us. Airbnb serves as a platform in which a local patron of Corvallis, Oregon could rent out a space in Kyiv, Ukraine and contact the host directly with a personalized message explaining their intentions of wanting to help. Sarah Brown, an Airbnb host out of Salt Lake City, claims that the experience entailed in booking Airbnbs in Ukraine along with "connecting with the actual person", makes her feel like she has so much "more skin in the game". By allowing people to express their sympathy in such a remarkable way, this gesture attracts both the attention of those eager to help as well as referrals from those who have undergone a positive experience.

I think the marketing approach made by Airbnb is truly remarkable. For a company to support its mission so much to ethically involve itself with a real-world crisis is inspiring, I don't care who you are. Airbnb is able to capitalize on major brand exposure by uniting one another in times of need such as those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal natural disasters, and now the war on Ukraine, and creating an extremely reputable platform in the process. 

If I was in the role of the brand manager at Airbnb, I would wholeheartedly go about the same process of aiding the refugees fleeing Ukraine. Something I would aim to adjust within Airbnb's marketing strategy, is the lack of exposure the customer and host reviews receive. By addressing the main obstacle the company faces, lack of trust within participants, I would work to highlight the positive and enchanting stories that the Airbnb customers and hosts experience.

From my research, I've found myself rather impressed with the impact the company is capable of making by changing the outcome of so many peoples lives. Something that I learned from this Marketing in the News Blog experience is that life changing ideas are all around us. A brand that was created from the air mattress of a San Francisco apartment building in 2008, is now capable of helping house well beyond 100,000 refugees during one of the biggest refugee crisis' ever.