5 Reasons to Use Airbnb Next Time You Travel

Companies part of the sharing economy, like Airbnb, are increasingly gaining popularity around the world.  These companies have established this new trend where people are able to provide what they have to offer to those who are searching for it. These companies work as great pairing systems because they’re inexpensive, easy to use, and, most importantly, reliable. With this new sharing economy, consumers can now spend much less money for lodging and transportation without having to give up quality and trust.

Many travelers want to see as much as they can during their trip, but that just means more money.  Obviously, with a budget, not everything is possible. After much research of trying to get from one city to the next, you find out that the trip turned out to be much more expensive than anticipated, especially when most of your budget is just on lodging and transportation. The sharing economy has capitalized on this struggle travelers by making trip planning a lot easier. 

By allowing hosts to share their living spaces to travelers, Airbnb offers travelers a place:

1. To stay last minute
As the world has become increasingly interconnected and easier to travel around, lodging is increasingly needed as well, but it's always a hassle. There's always a time when a hotel experience doesn't go as planned. Maybe the hotel you had reserved didn’t turn out how you expected or you got robbed and no longer have money to pay for the hotel or maybe you just wanted to get away for a weekend and decided you wanted to stay a night. The ease of finding a place to stay with Airbnb is incredible. There are so many offerings that you can’t resist and prices you can afford. The profiles are easy to read, accurate, and flexible enough to accommodate to your needs, even if it is last minute.

2. To spend money on other things

Lodging and transportation are the major expenses when traveling.  With Airbnb and other services that take part in the share economy like BlaBlaCar, you can significantly reduce both lodging and transportation expenses and spend your money on all the attractions and restaurants you want to go to throughout your trip.  

For example, you could spend 20-30 euros on lodging and 40 euros on transportation for a one night roundtrip to anywhere around Spain vs 60-70 euros for lodging plus 100-120 euros for a roundtrip train ride for the exact same trip. The amount of savings is incredible, and the best part is that you can actually stay at a nice place for that price.


3. To get the immersed experience

Traveling is all about getting to know an area. You want to know the history, the attractions, the go-to areas of the city, but obviously, you’re a tourist who doesn’t know the area and will be labeled as so and will end up going to the touristy spots.  All this doesn't have to happen when you're living in an apartment or bedroom owned by a native. Having a connection with your host is the absolute best way to get to know the area and connect with someone from there.  They can offer tips of where and when to go, how to get the best discounts, where is the best nightlife that the natives go to, etc.  Overall, you are able to attain a deeper perspective of the area you are visiting - the people - not just the physical environment. 

4. To feel at home

Feeling at home is the most difficult thing to attain when traveling. You’re usually stuck in a hotel that feels nothing like home and next to people from all over the world with whom you’ll never meet. Living at a natives home, even for one night, allows you to experience the feeling of family, belonging, and happiness that otherwise doesn’t usually happen at a hotel. Yes, the amenities are nice at a hotel but its the personal interaction that you end up missing.  Airbnb lets you find that personal connection and the homey feeling when you get to stay at that person’s house.


5. To "Belong Anywhere"

Airbnb prides its self on the “Belong anywhere” slogan, but the overall experience actually feels like so.  You feel like you could go any place in the world and connect with the friendly people that are willing to offer you their home as a place to stay last minute. This opportunity allows you to spend your money on the things you really want to do during your trip, to understand a bit more of the culture, all while feeling at home. 

Airbnb has been such a success all around the world because of their ability to foster trust in both the hosts and travelers.  The accurate review system they have in place for both hosts and travelers helps in marketing their brand as one that can be trusted.  They assure users that public reviews are submitted within 14 days to demonstrate a recent impression and offer the opportunity for hosts and travelers to submit private feedback as well. 

Along with the review system, campaigns like "Wall and Chain" presented above allowed people to submit their stories of "Belonging Anywhere."Airbnb aimed for the campaign to provoke a human connection to somebody's real life story around the feeling of belonging. 

Both of these examples, along with others like Create Airbnb, are subtle ways that Airbnb markets itself. The company publishes blogs about things, such as their mission statement and changes to their review system, so users can see that the company really is transparent about its business strategy and what they stand for, which fosters trust in users. Airbnb knows also when to listen to customers' experiences. It shows that they care about the customer and how their company has helped them feel like they belong in a different part of the world. Here, marketing isn't all about advertisements or commercials. It's about showing what the company's mission is - to belong anywhere.





Sources:
About review system: http://blog.airbnb.com/building-trust-new-review-system/
About mission statement: http://blog.airbnb.com/belong-anywhere/
About "Wall and Chain": http://shortyawards.com/7th/wall-and-chain-a-true-story-about-belonging-by-airbnb
About Create Airbnb: https://create.airbnb.com/en/home