Post on 14-Apr-2017
Airbnb’sCampaignProposal2016
OverstepCommunications
NicoletteAmbrosio KayleeNaden JanelleKelly
WonjaeChoi LiumingGuo
OverstepCommunications157MissionStreetSanFrancisco,CA94127March22,2016
JonathanMildenhallChiefMarketingOfficerAirbnb,Inc.888BrannanStreetSanFrancisco,CA94103
DearMr.Mildenhall:
AttachedinthisbookletisAirbnb’sCampaignProposal.Enclosedyouwillfirstfind
anExecutiveSummaryandIntroduction,followedbytheoverallMarketingProblem,which
discussesthatlackofawarenessandsecurityconcernspreventtravelersfrombookingan
Airbnb.Afterthat,youwillfindadetailedSituationAnalysiswithaSWOT.Next,thereisan
explanationofthetargetaudienceforthiscampaign.Thetargetaudienceismillennialsin
theU.S.,China,andKorea,andthereissupportingevidencefrombothPrimaryand
SecondaryResearch.Finally,youwillencounterourMarketingandCommunicationGoals,
alongwithbriefCreative,Media,andPromotionalStrategies.Here,itwillexplainthatthe
advertisementsneedtoreduceskepticismandraiseawarenessinorderforthetargetto
becomeamemberofAirbnb.
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontactOverstepCommunications.
Sincerely,
TableofContents
ExecutiveSummary..............................................................................................................................................1Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................2MarketingProblem...............................................................................................................................................3
SituationAnalysis..................................................................................................................................................4CompanyAnalysis...........................................................................................................................................4ConsumerAnalysis..........................................................................................................................................6MarketAnalysis................................................................................................................................................9ProductAnalysis...........................................................................................................................................10
CompetitiveAnalysis...................................................................................................................................11SWOT..........................................................................................................................................................................16
Strengths..........................................................................................................................................................16Weaknesses.....................................................................................................................................................17Opportunities.................................................................................................................................................20Threats..............................................................................................................................................................23
TargetAudience...................................................................................................................................................27SecondaryResearch....................................................................................................................................27PrimaryResearch.........................................................................................................................................29Methodology..............................................................................................................................................29ResultsandImplications.......................................................................................................................30
SynthesisofPrimaryandSecondaryResearch...............................................................................40TargetRecommendations........................................................................................................................41ProblemsandOpportunitiesAssociatedwithTargetAudience..............................................42CampaignGoals....................................................................................................................................................46MarketingGoals............................................................................................................................................46CommunicationGoals................................................................................................................................47RecommendedCreative,Media,andPromotionalStrategies...................................................51CreativeApproach......................................................................................................................................51
MediaStrategy..............................................................................................................................................52PromotionalStrategy.................................................................................................................................54
Summary..................................................................................................................................................................56
References...............................................................................................................................................................57Appendix..................................................................................................................................................................69SimmonsOneViewTables........................................................................................................................69
Questionnaire.................................................................................................................................................75FocusGroup....................................................................................................................................................81
SPSSOutputs..................................................................................................................................................83Photos...............................................................................................................................................................90Charts................................................................................................................................................................91
OstrowModel................................................................................................................................................92
1
ExecutiveSummary
Airbnbwasfoundedin2008bytwofriendsandallowstravelerstorentspacesfrom
hosts,orpeoplewhohavevacantspaceintheirhomes.Whilerelativelynew,Airbnb’s
currentworthis$25.5billion(Carson,2015).OverthefewyearsAirbnbhavebeen
operating,theservicehasgeneratedmuchattention.Morethan60billionindividualshave
usedAirbnbin34,000citiesand190countries.Further,therehavebeen2millionlistings
worldwide(Airbnb—RecappingDay1ofAirbnbOpen,n.d.).
Inspiteoftheirsuccess,Airbnbstrugglestocommunicateapositivebrandimageto
potentialnewusers.Thisdisconnectislargelybasedonmistrustofthecompanyandis
affectingthenumberofpeoplewhodecidetobecomemembers.OverstepCommunications
recommendedtofocusonstudentsandprofessionals,18to34-years-old,becauseour
researchshowedthatthesetwogroupsusetravelsitestobooktravelaccommodations.
ExpandingintotheChineseandKoreanmarketsprovidesmultipleopportunitiesfor
Airbnbbecauseofagrowingnumberofinternationalanddomestictouristsintheseareas
(TravelChinaGuide,2015;StatisticsKorea,2015).Ourresearchshowedthattherearenot
anysignificantdifferencesseenbetweenstudentsandprofessionalsamongthedifferent
markets,exceptforChina.Thus,theproposedcampaignOverstepCommunications
constructedfocusesontargetingmillennialsinAmerica,China,andKorea.Additionally,the
ChineseandKoreanmarketswillpushAirbnbtodevelopamoretrustingpersonality,as
thesetwoaremostconcernedwiththetrustworthinessoftheservice.
Lastly,theproposedcampaignwillrevolvearoundincreasingthenumberofpeople
whosignuptobecomemembers.Theadvertisementswillincludeinformativeand
emotionalappealsandbeplacedonlinethroughbanneradvertisementsandsocialmedia.
2
Introduction
Whenbookingtravelaccommodations,therearemanysourcesused.Asfoundin
ourresearch,peopletendtolookforaccommodationsthathavegoodsecurityinthearea
andthatareclean,suchasthemultitudeofonlinesourcesavailable,andthisserviceisan
upandcomingformofoneoftheseservices.Airbnbprovidedifferentalternativestohotel
accommodationsduringtravels.HostsofAirbnbrentoutroomsortheirentirehomesto
peoplelookingforadifferentaccommodationwhentravelingtoanewdestination.
Foundedin2008,Airbnbhasgrownsignificantly(AboutUs,n.d.).TheybeganinSan
Franciscoanddestinationscannowbefoundallaroundtheworld(Airbnb,n.d.).Currently,
thereareAirbnblistingsin34,000citiesand190countries(AboutUs,n.d.).Theserviceis
becomingmorepopular;however,therearestillafewchallenges.
SinceAirbnbwerefoundedin2008,thecompanyisstillrelativelynewandthisis
apparentintheknowledge,orlackthereof,theservice(Harris,2015).Airbnbisaservice
that,whileconvenient,alsodrawssomeskepticismfromconsumers.Thegoalistoreduce
theskepticism;togetmorepeopletosignuptobecomemembers.Thatway,memberswill
beabletosearchforawidevarietyofdifferentoptionsandincreasetraffictoAirbnb’s
website.
3
MarketingProblem
Airbnbcontinuetogrowandriseinpopularity.Lastyear,theyvaluedat$25.5
billion(Winkler,2015).Yet,Airbnbfacesmanyproblemsthatpreventthevaluationfrom
increasing.ThebiggestchallengeAirbnbencountersislackofawareness.MorganStanley
conductedasurveyandofthoserespondentswhohavenotusedAirbnbbefore,59%said
thattheyhavenotheardofAirbnb(Harris,2015).Therefore,theproblemneedstobe
addressedinthiscampaignsomorepeoplesignuptobecomeamemberandthevaluation
ofthecompanycanincrease.
Additionally,Airbnbusersandnon-usershavesecurityconcerns(Harris,2015).In
thesamestudybyMorganStanley,32%ofrespondentshaveprivacyconcernswhile27%
havesafetyconcernswithAirbnb(Harris,2015).Securityissuespresentahugechallenge
forAirbnb,especiallyfornon-userswhoaremostlikelynotgoingtotrytheservice.
Consequently,Airbnbneedstoassureconsumersthattheycanbejustassafewhenstaying
inanAirbnblistingaswhenstayinginahotel.
Allinall,Airbnb’sfuturecampaignneedstoaddresstheseconcernsinorderto
accomplishtheirmarketinggoal,whichistogetthetargetaudiencetosignuptobecome
activemembers.
4
SituationAnalysis
CompanyAnalysis
History
Asmentionedpreviously,Airbnbwasfoundedin2008when27-year-old
roommates,JoeGebbiaandBrianChesky,werestrugglingtopaytheirrent.Accordingtoan
interviewfeaturedinTheTelegraphbyJessicaSalter:
TheyhadmetfiveyearsearlieratRhodeIslandSchoolofDesign.Whentheyheard
abouthotelsrunningoutofroomsduetoadesignconferenceinSanFrancisco,
GebbiaandCheskyjumpedontheopportunity.Theyrentedoutthreeairbedson
theirliving-roomfloorandcookedtheirguestsbreakfastthefollowingmorning.
Afterthestayprovedtobesuccessful,GebbiaandCheskycreated
AirBedandBreakfast.com,receivingrentersjustsixdaysafter:“a30-year-oldIndian
man,a35-year-oldwomanfromBoston,anda45-year-oldfatheroffourfromUtah
sleepingontheirfloorfor$80anight.”Thetwoyoungmenrealizedthiswebsite
couldgrowintosomethingamazing(Salter,2012).
BothGebbiaandCheskywantedtobeentrepreneurs,butneitherhadadesireto
createmore“stuffthatendsupinlandfill,”socreatingawebsitethatwouldallowpeopleto
rentsomethingthatalreadyexistedwasagreatidea(Salter,2012).Afterenlistingformer
roommate,NathanBlecharczyk,theybegantoofficiallydevelopthewebsite.Insummer
2008,PresidentObamawasduetospeakinDenverattheDemocraticNationalConvention
and80,000peoplewereexpectedtoattend(Salter,2012).Withanothershortageofhotel
rooms,Gebbia,Chesky,andBlecharczykfinishedandlaunchedthewebsitetwoweeks
5
beforetheconference.Theyhad800listingswithinaweekbutwerenotmakingany
money.Theyoungmendecidedtostartsellingboxesofcerealbrandedas“ObamaO’s”and
“Cap’nMcCain”for$40each,selling800andmakingaround$30,000(Salter,2012).
In2009,investorPaulGraham(theco-founderofYCombinator,astartupmentoring
program)gavethecompany$20,000infunding,leadingtoanother$600,000fromventure
capitalists(Salter,2012).Afteraddingachargeofupto15%forbooking,thetriowas
makingenoughmoneytopayforlivingexpensesbyApril.Afterinvestinga“significant
amount”ofmoney,actorAshtonKutcherbecametheirStrategicAdvisor.Thecompany
receivedafurther$112millioninventurefundinginJuly2011.Airbnbprovedtobea
significantsuccess(Salter,2012).
SalesandProfits
Asstatedabove,Airbnbreachedavaluationof$25.5billion,afterfinalizinga$1.5
billionfundinground(Carson,2015).AccordingtoBizCarsonfromBusinessInsider,the
$25.5billionexceedshotelchainMarriott($21billion)anddoublesthevaluationoftravel
siteExpedia.Airbnbseesthemselveshaulingin“$10billioninrevenueby2020,with
profitsof$3billionbeforeinterest,taxes,depreciationandamortization”(Carson,2015).
In2015,Airbnbexpected$850millioninrevenueandanoperatinglossofabout$150
million,whilestrivingtoexpandtheirmarkettonewlocationsanddealingwithregulatory
issues(Carson,2015).Therehasbeenrecentsuccesswiththecompany’sexpansionto
Cuba,wheretherearemorethan2,000listings(Carson,2015).
However,Airbnbcontinuestofaceregulatoryissues.Forabriefperiodoftime,it
becameillegaltouseAirbnbinNewYorkCity(Carson,2015).Afterthemotionwas
overturned,Airbnbsharedthattheyarewillingtopaytaxes,astheydoforSanFrancisco
6
andWashingtonD.C.(Carson,2015).ThesuccessofAirbnbisevidentsinceAirbnbstarted
asaone-roomlistingandhasexpandedintohundredsofthousandsoflistings.
Unfortunately,thecurrentmarketingproblempreventsAirbnb’sconsumerbasefrom
expanding.
ExisitingConsumerAnalysis
Airbnb’scurrentconsumersaresegmentedintotwospecificgroups:hostsand
travelers(Deep,2015).Thisparticularmixallowsthecompanytosuccessfullyfunctionasa
sharingeconomy-basedsystem;asystembuiltuponanin-depthmethodofconnecting
individualsaroundtheworld.AsofFebruary2016,Airbnbhasattracted60millionusers
and640,000hosts(Airbnb-RecappingDay1ofAirbnbOpen,n.d.).Hostsprovidetravelers
withacozyaccommodation,andsometimesfoodtoeat.Simultaneously,travelersuse
Airbnbasaservicetofinda“homey”placetostayin,sometimes,anewforeignsetting.
Ofthe640,000hosts,54%arefemaleand46%aremale(Buhr,2015).Astudy
conductedbyformerWhiteHouseNationalEconomicAdvisor,GeneSperling,foundthat
“themajorityofhostsareworking-classfamilieswhorentouttheirprimaryresidencefor
about66daysayear,”increasingtheirannualincomeby14%(Buhr,2015).Interestingly
enough,Airbnb’sHeadofGlobalPolicyandPublicAffairs,ChrisLehane,sharedinanarticle
fromTheNewYorkTimesbyMikeIsaacthat“99percentofpeopleonAirbnbinNewYork
Cityareusingitasaneconomiclifeline"(Isaac,2015).Seventy-twopercentofAirbnbhosts
inNewYorkCityusethemoneytheyearnfromrentingouttheirspacetostayintheirown
home(Heath,2015).BenPopperfromTheVergeintervieweddescribedhowanAirbnb
hostrentedfiveunits,butonlyhadoneunderhisnameandestimatedanincomeof
$500,000(Popper,2015).Onaverage,Airbnbhostsannuallyearn$7,350(ora14%raisein
7
annualincome)fromtemporarilyrentingouttheirspace(Heath,2015).Basedonthis,
Airbnbclaimstobehelpingthemiddle-classfamilysupplementtheirincomethroughthe
site(Burh,2015).Althoughgeneratingasteadyflowofrevenueisimportanttohosts,
buildingtrustisjustascrucial.Hostshopetodevelopatrustingrelationshipbetween
themselvesandpotentialusers(Airbnb,2014).
Duetothelackofunderstandingofapplicablelawsthatareenforced,hostsare
accusedof“cheating”thesystemoftaxdollars(Williams-Alvarez,2014).Inorderto
comfortablyandsafelyparticipateinthegrowingsharing-economy,travelersandhosts
needtounderstandthelaws.Sincelawsindifferentcitiesandstatesarecontinuingto
change,thisisalong-termproblem.
Fortravelers,Airbnbisanexcitingget-awayfromtheregularmonotonouspattern
oflife.Travelersseizetheopportunityto“takeadvantageofahigherqualityofitemsor
servicesthantheywouldotherwiseafford,”(Hughes,2016).CheskysharedwithConde´
NastthattherearefivespecificwaysinwhichtravelersuseAirbnb:neighborhood
sampling,visitingfamilyandfriends,introducinggrandparentstotheirnewgrandchildren,
takinglengthyvacations,andexploringnew“quirky”locations(Cohen,2014).
Movingtoanewcityisbothexcitingandterrifying.Oftentimes,individualswould
liketogetafeeloftheareaduringallhoursofthedaytodecidewhetherornotaplaceis
forthem.Cheskyclaimedsettingupamonth-stayinthatnewareaisaperfectwaytogeta
clearfeelonthelocation(Cohen,2014).HeaddedmanyusersuseAirbnbspecificallyfor
saidreason(Cohen,2014).
Further,stayinginanextendedfamilymember’shomeprovestobeaninteresting
experience.Forsome,stayingwithfamilyiscomforting,butAirbnbgivesuserstheoption
8
ofbeingabletogetawaywhenitisnolongercomfortingbutsuffocating.Cheskysaidhe
noticedpeoplebookinghousesinthesameneighborhoodastheirfamilymembers(Cohen,
2014).AhostinNewYork’sTribecaneighborhoodtoldCheskythatmostofherguests
werefamilymembersofotherresidentsinherbuilding(Cohen,2014).Additionally,after
havinganewbaby,mostparentsofteninvitetheirownparentstohelpoutwithhousehold
choresandtakingcareoftheinfant.Whengrandparentsstayinthehome,theycanbecome
overbearing,soitisnotsurprisingthatnewparentsareusingAirbnbtobooktheirparents
ahomeduringtheirstay.Throughthis,everyoneisgivenmoreprivacy(Cohen,2014).
LastminuteandspontaneousbookingsmakeupAirbnb’sbusinessbutChesky
indicatedthatextendedstaysaregrowing,aswell(Cohen,2014).AccordingtoChesky,“ten
percentofourbusinessislong-termstays,anditisgrowing...Icouldeasilyseethatbeing
15to20%,”(Cohen,2014).HebelievedthisspecificareaiswhereAirbnbshinesbrightest.
Cheskyencouragedpeopletothinkofhowtheymayfeelafterstayingatafriend’sfor30
days,orahotelfor30days.UsingAirbnbforanextendedstaycertainlyseemsmore
appropriate(Cohen,2014).
Intermsofage,thecompanyhasattractedagreatamountofinterestfrom
millennialsaswell.EMarketerfound“aNovember2012surveybyJWTIntelligence[stated]
morethanhalfofmillennials(thoseages18to34)saidtheywoulduseapeer-to-peer
servicelikeAirbnb—afarhigherpercentagethanGenerationXandbabyboomers”
(eMarketer,2014).However,studiesdoshowthat10%ofAirbnbhostsareovertheageof
60and1millionAirbnbusersarealsoovertheageof60(Airbnb-CelebratingAirbnb’s60+
HostCommunity,n.d.).
Surprisingly,Cheskydisclosedthatmanypeoplewantunusualplacestostay,“like
9
boats,treehouses,handmadehomes,andyurts.”Headded“[Airbnbis]probablythelargest
marketplaceforboats,”andtheirmostpopularlistingsaretreehouses(Cohen,2014).
Airbnb’sappisknownforfindingsuchlocationsunderneaththeir“Discovery”section,
“whichfeaturesprivateislands,windmills,hauntedhouses,andevenbusesyoucansleep
in”(Cohen,2014).ItispreciselylistingslikethesethathaveallowedAirbnbtoattractsuch
auniqueanddiversegroupoftravelers.Theseindividualslookforadventureand
excitement.Travelerskeeptheirendofthesharing-economybargainastheyfindthenew
waystocreatelong-lastingmemorieswhilehelpingtheircommunity.
MarketAnalysis
Airbnbhave2,368employees(450ofwhichareinEurope)andispositionedasthe
world’s3rdmostvaluableprivatelyheldstartup(Gamba,2015;Byrne,2015;Alba,2015).
ThisnotionwassolidifiedbyAirbnb’sfinanceroundinJune2015.AccordingtoDaveyAlba
inWired,their$1.5billionfinancingroundwasoneofthelargestprivatefundingrounds
ever(Alba,2015).TheyarecurrentlybehindUber,whoispositionedasthe1stmost
valuedprivatelyheldstartup(valuedat$62.5billion)andthenXiaomi,asmartphone
manufacturerthatsellshigh-enddevicesatlowprices,positionedin2ndplace(valuedat
$46billion)(Alba,2015;Seifert,2013).
InNewYorkCity,Airbnbhavemadeagreatimpression.Airbnbshareontheir
publicblogthatthemedianhome-sharingincomeforanAirbnbhostinNewYorkCityis
$5,110(Popper,2015).AccordingtoAirbnb’swebsite,“78%ofAirbnbhostsinNewYork
earnlow,moderate,ormiddleincomes”and“36%[(freelancers,part-timeworkers,or
students)]haveunsteadyincomes”(Airbnb,2015).Further,thereare“13,800active
listingsinBrooklyn,13,400activelistingsinOuterManhattan,5,300activelistingsin
10
CentralManhattan,2,500activelistingsinQueens,430activelistingsintheBronx,and200
activelistingsinStatenIsland”(Airbnb,2015).
Aspreviouslymentioned,Airbnbispresentlyactivein34,000citiesand190
countries.Theirlistingsareespeciallypopularamongbusinesstravelers,witha2015
“annualgrowthrateof261percentdomesticallyand249percentinternationally”(Yeung,
2016).ThemostpopularU.S.cityforbookingisSanFrancisco,Californiaandthemost
popularinternationalcityisVancouver,Canada(Yeung,2016).
Moreover,AirbnbhopetoexpandintotheChinesemarket.BlecharczyktoldThe
FinancialTimesthatthedemandinChinatotravelincreasedexponentiallylastyear(Shead,
2016).AirbnbtargetChinesetouristslookingtotravelinternationally(Horwitz,2015).
AccordingtoHorwitz,Airbnbbecame“‘strategicpartners’withChinaBroadbandCapital
andSequoiaCapitalChina,andislookingforaCEOtoheadupadomesticbranch”
(Horwitz,2015).AsFritzDemopolousstated,“domesticChinesetravelisprobably80to90
percentoftheoveralltravelmarket”(Horwitz,2015).Airbnbmustadapttheirbusiness
modeliftheywanttoeffectivelyreachChinesetravelers.
ProductAnalysis
Travelersoftenwishtofindnew,interestingaccommodationswhenbookingtheir
travels,andthesearewhatAirbnboffer.Stayinginhotelscangetredundantandboring,so
theoptionsofferedbyAirbnbprovidenewexperiencesfortravelers.TheratesofAirbnb
canbemoreaffordablethanthetypicalhotel,whichallowsformoreexplorationand
experiencegainedfromthetraveldestinationoftheconsumer.Athightraveltimes,likethe
summer,hotelpricesaremorelikelytogoupandaremoredifficulttobookduetothehigh
demandofconsumers(Okura,2015).Airbnbcanhelpsolvethisissue.
11
WhileAirbnbisstillgrowing,theproblemofbookedhotelsorhighpricescanbe
alleviatedbybookinganAirbnbroomorhome.Thewantsandneedsofpeopleare
changingandtheyarelookingfordifferentexperienceswhentheytravelanditis
importantforproviderstobeawareofthesechanges(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,
2015,p.102).Airbnbprovidesthesetypesofexperiencesandallowsthesatisfactionofthe
wantsandneedstooccur.Travelerswanttobeabletoenjoythemselveswhiletheyare
awayandnotworryabouthowmuchmoneytheyarespendingoverall.Bybookingan
Airbnb,theseconsumersareabletosavesomeoftheirfundsforotherexperiences.
Airbnb’sbrandessenceisbuiltupbymanyaspects.Thebrand’spersonalitycanbe
describedasyoung,adventurous,innovative,boldandvisionary(Parente&Strausbaugh-
Hutchinson,2015,p.168).Theyalsooffermanyattributesandbenefitstotheirconsumers
thathelppositionthemselvesbetter(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.168).
Someattributesincludeaffordabilityandvarietyofoptions,inwhichcasesconsumerscan
selecttheaccommodationsmostrelevanttotheirwantsandneeds.Thebenefitsgained
includethesatisfactionofsavingmoneyandofhavingchoiceswhenbooking
accommodationsfortravels.
TheessenceofthebrandAirbnbbuildsallowsconsumerstocreatemental
connectionstothebrandthatwillprovideanopportunitytocreatetopofmindawareness.
Inaddition,loyalcustomerswillcontinuetousetheservice(Parente&Strausbaugh-
Hutchinson,2015,p.103).ThesementalconnectionswillbringconsumersbacktoAirbnb
andencourageotherstousetheservice.Withagoodbrandessence,Airbnbwillbeableto
growtheirconsumerbaseandincreasemembershipontheirsite.
CompetitiveAnalysis
12
Sinceaccommodation-sharingisanewerconceptcomparedtotraditional
accommodationreservations,Airbnbhasbothindirectanddirectcompetitors.Travelers
mainlyuseonlinetravelagents,suchasExpediaandstilluseotherrentingsiteslike
HomeAway(Harris,2015).Ontheotherhand,ChinahasAirbnbimitatorsthatarevery
similartoAirbnbanditsbusinessmodel,likeXiazohu(CIWTeam,2015).
Expedia
Expediaprovidestravelerswithanonlinetrip-planningresource.Theseresources
allowtravelerstobookalloftheirtravelaccommodations,includingairlinetickets,hotel
reservations,carrentals,cruises,andvacationpackages.Expedialaunchedin1996and
currentlyresidesinNorthAmerica,Europe,andAsia/Pacificregion(Hoover’s-Expedia,
n.d.).SimilartoAirbnb,Expediaofferaccommodationsthatappealtobothleisuretravelers
andbusinesstravelers,inadditiontoprovidingalargevarietyofoptionsrangingfrom
modesttoluxuryaccommodations(GlobalNetworkofBrands,n.d.).AccordingtoHoover’s,
Expedia’ssalesin2015was$6.67billionandthenetincomewas$764.47million.While
Expediaofferdifferenttravelaccommodations,93%oftherevenueisgeneratedjustfrom
leisuretravelsand70%oftherevenueisgeneratedfromhotelreservationsalonein2014
(Hoover’s-Expedia,n.d.).
Intheirbook“AdvertisingCampaignStrategy:AGuidetoMarketingCommunication
Plans,”DonaldE.ParenteandKirstenL.Strausbaugh-Hutchinsonexplainedthatitis
essentialtoidentifywhatconsumersconsiderwhenpurchasingaproductorservice
(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.113).Outof50participantsthattookour
questionnaire,14participantspreferredExpediatobetheironesourcetobooktravel
accommodationsformanydifferentreasons.ParticipantsdescribedExpediaaseasytouse
13
aswellasasourcewithgooddeals.Someparticipantsalsoindicatedthatoneofthe
advantagesofusingExpediaisthattheyprovideavarietyofoptionsthattheuserscan
comparewithotheroptions.
PastadvertisementsfromExpediahavealargefocusonemotionalappealsand
togetherness.TheadsExpediahaveusedcomefrommultiplemediaoutlets:television,
radio,newspaperandinternet(MPA—theAssociationofMagazineMedia,KantarMedia,
2016).Onetelevisioncommercial,forexample,showedafatherwhowasconstantly
travelingforbusinessbutalwaysbroughthisdaughterbackadifferentanimalstatueor
plushtoy.Oneday,hesavedupenoughExpediarewardspointssohecouldtakehis
daughtertoAfricatoexperiencearealsafariasopposedtothemakeshiftoneshedisplayed
onherwindowsill(180LA,2014).ThismakesExpediaareasonablecompetitorofAirbnb
becauseExpedia’smainfunctionasatravelwebsiteishotelreservations.
HomeAway
HomeAwaypresentuserswithanonline,travelwebsitethatallowsuserstobook
vacationrentalsinover190countries.UnlikeAirbnbthatallowuserstobookprivate
roomswithinahome,HomeAwayprovidetravelerswiththewholevacationrental.
Accordingtotheirwebsite,HomeAwayare“committedtohelpingfamiliesandfriendsfind
theperfectvacationrentaltocreateunforgettabletravelexperiencestogether”(Company
Information,n.d.).FoundersBrianSharplesandCarlShephardstartedHomeAwayin
Austin,TexasinFebruary2005,butthecompanywaspreviouslynamedWVRGroup.The
namechangedtoHomeAwayinMay2006(CorporateTimeline,n.d.).However,Expedia,
Inc.acquiredHomeAwaywithalloftheirbrands:VRBO.com,VacationRentals.com,
BedandBreakfast.com,amongothersthatareforeignwebsites(Expedia,Inc.,2015).In
14
2014,saleswere$446.76millionandthenetincomewas$13.38million,with60%of
revenuefromtheUnitedStates,15%fromFrance,and12%fromtheUnitedKingdom
(Hoover’s-HomeAway,n.d.).
HomeAway’spastadvertisingincludestelevision,newspaper,internetandoutdoor
mediaoutlets(MPA—theAssociationofMagazineMedia,KantarMedia,2016).Amajor
focusoftheiradvertisementsistheideaofwholesomeliving,havingthewholefamily
togetherinoneplaceforthemselves,likerentingoutanentirehomeinsteadofoneroom
andsharingitwithothers(Saatchi&Saatchi,2016).Anotherdepictionofthewholefamily
beinginoneplacetogetherwasshownintheiradvertisemententitled“Biscuit,”inwhicha
familydogtraveledfarandwidetofindhisownersonvacationinaHomeAwaylocation
(Saatchi&Saatchi,2015).
TheyareacompetitorbecausetheyoffersimilarserviceslikeAirbnb,allowingusers
tohaveanalternativetohotelreservations.Similarly,HomeAwaygrowinpopularityin
Europe,justlikeAirbnb,andtheyaretryingtoexpandtotheChinesemarket(Hoover’s-
HomeAway,n.d.).
Xiaozhu
XiaozhuofferChinesetravelersanonline,accommodating-sharingservice,which
resembleAirbnb.Launchedin2012byfounderChenChi,Xiaozhuhadahardtime
successfullylistingdifferentaccommodations;however,afterafewyearssincethelaunch,
Xiaozhuraisedmorethan$60millioninSeriesCroundfundingandofferedover30,000
homesinmorethan200Chinesecities(Yimin,2015).Xiaozhuhaveaverysimilarbusiness
modeltoAirbnbbutafterafewyears,Xiaozhuadjustedtheirbusinessmodelinorderto
15
accommodatetotheChinesemarket.Forexample,XiaozhuworkedongettingtheChinese
tobemoreacceptingoftheideaofaccommodating-sharing(Fung,2015).
Beingaforeigncompetitor,advertisementsbyXiaozhuweredifficulttofind.While
theymayoutputdifferentadvertisementsamongdifferentmediaoutlets,therewereno
resultsfoundofwhatmediaareusedandwhattheadvertisementsentail.
Becauseoftheclosesimilaritiesinbusinessmodelsandbusinessconcepts,Xiaozhu
directlycompetewithAirbnb.Airbnbneedtoaccommodatetothe“peculiaritiesofthe
Chinesemarket”and“cultivateconsumerhabitstowardsaccommodation-sharing”in
China,inordertobesuccessfulinanew,foreignmarket(Yimin,2015).
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SWOTAnalysis
Strengths:
Firstandforemost,Airbnbarepartofagrowingeconomicmovement:thesharing
economy.Thesharingeconomyis“asocio-economicecosystembuiltaroundthesharingof
humanandphysicalresources,”(Matofska,n.d.).WhatmakesAirbnbsospecialisthatthey
encompasssomeofthemanyaspectsthatarecrucialtocreatingasuccessfulsharing
economy,oneofthosebeingpeople.Airbnballowforpeopleallovertheworldto
communicateinwaysthatweneverthoughtpossible.Throughthis,Airbnbcreatean
authenticexperience(atarelativelyreasonableprice)peoplecannotreceivewhenbooking
ahotel.
Additionally,thefounders’simpleideaofpurchasingandrentingoutthreeair
mattressesintheirapartmentnotonlyhelpedthemwiththeirrentdilemma,but
encouragedthemtoexpandonthatconceptandcreateacompanythatisflourishingtoday.
Becausetheyareanewcompany,Airbnbhavebeenabletobuildandcreatenewwaysto
out-dothehotelindustry.Oneofthesewaysincludesproviding24/7customerservice.
AccordingtoGetHuman,thisserviceisstrictlyforAirbnbusersandallowshostsor
travelerstocallanytimetoreportanissue;askaquestionaboutbilling,sales,ormore;or
shareacomment(AirbnbSupportChannelsCompared,n.d.).Withanaveragewaittimeof
approximately15minutes,Airbnbdotheirbesttotryandbetherefortheircustomersina
timelymanner.Further,theynowofferhostprotectioninsurance(nowcovering$1billion
perbooking)(Airbnb-HostProtectionInsurance,n.d.).
Inadditiontotheirnewness,Airbnbaresleekandmodern,radiatingatrendyimage
forthetypicalyoungconsumer.Theeffortless,minimalstyleofthewebsite,easy
17
accessibilityoftheAirbnbapp,andthepopularityofthecompanythemselvesattractthe
youngercrowd.Thereisnoneedforstudentstopayanexorbitantlyhighamountofmoney
totraveltotheirdesireddestinationifpeoplearewillingtorentoutaspaceintheirhome,
ortheirentirehome,foradecentlowprice.
● 24/7Customerservice
● Offersuniquetravelingexperience(directrelationshipbetweentravelersandlocals)
● Offershostprotectioninsurance(accordingtoAirbnb,theirinsurancenowcovers$1
billionperbooking)
● Modern,trendyimageforyoungerconsumers
● Significantlygrowingnumberofconsumers
● Generallylowerpriceswhencomparedtostandardhotelrates
● Partofsharingservicesohostandrenterbenefit
● Companyisagreatinvestmentforpotentialinvestors(increasedvaluationof
company)
Weaknesses:
Yet,inspiteofthemanystrengthsAirbnbhave,theysufferfrommanyweaknesses.
Airbnbhavestruggledwiththelawmorethanonce.In2015,Airbnbwereaccusedof
breakingPropositionF(casuallyknownastheAirbnbInitiative)inSanFrancisco,which
wouldhaveessentiallytoughenedregulationonshort-termrentalofresidential
apartmentsandhomes,(Lien,2015).Tougherregulationswouldmeaninsteadofthe
18
allowed90daysinayearlimitforrenting(orunlimitedrentingifthehostispresent),
hostswouldonlybeabletorentouttheirspacesfor75days(Lien,2015).
PropositionFwouldfurtherrequirehostsandplatformstoprovidereportsthat
wouldincludethenumberofnightsthespacewasbeingrented,andthenumberofthe
nightsthehostwouldbepresent(Lien,2015).Interestedparties,likenon-profitsand
housinggroups,wouldbeabletosuehostsandplatformsforviolatinganysetrules(Lien,
2015).Thiswouldbeagreatchangefromthecurrentstancewhichgivesindividualsthe
righttosuebutnotparties.Finally,peoplewouldnotbeabletorentoutnewadditionsto
theirhomes,forexample,addinganewkitchenorbathroomtoagarage(Lien,2015).
Moreover,Airbnbactasdirectmiddlemenbetweenhostsandtravelers.Whilethe
companyprovidesinsuranceforhosts,Airbnbdonotguaranteethesafetyofsaidhostsor
rentersoreitheroftheirpossessions.Rightlyso,thisnotionpushesmanytofeelskeptical
aboutthecompany,ratherthancomfortable.Asaresult,Airbnbrelyheavilyonthequality
oftheirhostsandtravelers.
Further,Airbnbdonotrequiretheirhoststoprovidetravelerswithservicesthey
mayreceiveiftheychoosetostayinahotel.Theseinclude:arrangingorservingbreakfast
inthemorning,aspacetoparktheircar,andcomplimentarytransportation.OnAirbnb’s
blog,theydomentionthattheremustbeahighlevelofcommunicationbetweenhostsand
travelerswhensettingupastay.Theystated,“fromthemomentaguestinquiresabout
yourlistingtothetimeofbooking,itiscriticaltostateyourHouseRulesandtheamenities
youofferupfront”(Airbnb-SettingGuestExpectations,n.d.).Doingsowillprevent
misunderstandingsandguaranteemorepositiveexperiences.
19
Disabledindividualsencounterissueswhenusingthesharingservice.BruceGolding
shared“[handicapped]travelerswhousethecontroversialroom-rentalservicecouldbein
forarudeawakeningwhentheyarriveintheBigApple,asaslewofNewYorkCity
apartmentstoutedas‘wheelchairaccessible’arereallyobstaclecoursesfortheinfirm”
(Golding,2014).AlistinginAstoria,Queensfeaturedanarrowspiralstaircasetothe
secondfloor;alistingfora“cozy”apartmentinEastVillagefeaturedasteepwooden
staircasetoitssleepingloft;andanotherlistinghadametalladder(Golding,2014).
Individualsshouldbeawarethatfalselylabelingalistingas“wheelchairaccessible”puts
disabledpersonsindiresituations.InalettersenttoauthoritiesfromtheDisabledIn
ActionofMetropolitanNewYorkGroup,advocatesfordisabledpersonsaccusedAirbnbof
violatingtheAmericansWithDisabilityAct,“alongwithcityandstatelawsthat‘requireall
privateandpublicentitiesprovidingpublicaccommodationstoofferanequalopportunity
forpersonswithadisability’”(Golding,2014).Airbnbcontinuetoworkonthisgrowing
problem,makingsuretohelpguestsfindappropriatelistingstomeettheirneeds.
Finally,theideaofAirbnbislargelysusceptibletopotentialcopycats.Forexample,
Xiaozhu.cominChinaareessentiallytheexactsameconcept,buttargetedtowardsChinese
consumers(Fung,2015).ThishurtsAirbnbdirectlybecausetheyarechoosingtoexpand
theircompanytoChina,arapidlygrowingmarketthatisfulloftravelers.WithXiaozhu
beingrightinthecenterofthis,theyactasdirectcompetitortoAirbnb.
20
● PropositionF→SanFranciscolawthatallowsAirbnbtohavehostsinthisarea
● Safetyofselfandpossessionsisnotguaranteedfortravelers
● Originalideabutsusceptibletopotentialcopycats(Xiaozhu.com,forexample)
● Airbnbisdirectmiddlemanbetweenahostandthetraveler
● Reliesheavilyonqualityofthehost;badreviewsdirectlyaffecttheprogressionofthe
company
● Noteasilyaccessiblefordisabledindividuals
● Newnessmeansskepticismfrommany
● Doesnotincludeallservicessomehotelsmayincludelikeparking,breakfast,travel
accommodations,etc.
Opportunities:
Still,AirbnbcantackleopportunitieslikeexpandingtheirmarkettoChineseand
KoreanaudiencesbeforeXiaozhu.BlecharczyksharedthatAirbnb’snewfoundfocuson
Chinaisduetoanincreaseindemandinthecountry(Horwitz,2015).Becausemuchofthe
ChinesetargetaudieceisunbiasedtowardshotelsandAirbnb,theywillapproachAirbnb
withafreshperspective.Also,Chinahasalargesupplyofvacanthomes--morethan50
millioninurbanChina--whichhavebecomehotspotsforvacationuse(Jim,2015).
InKorea,Airbnbhavebeenmetwithresistance.Introducedinthecountryin
January2013,Airbnbweredeemedan“illegalactivity”(Leem,2016).InWillAirbnbBe
FeasibleinKorea?,Yoon-KyungLeemmentionedaKoreansurnamedJungwasfined
700,000won,Koreancurrency,(100,000wonpertraveleraday)forviolatingthePublic
21
HealthControlAct.Yet,theKoreangovernmentisbecomingawareofthebenefits
associatedwithAirbnb(andtheimportanceofkeepingupwiththerestoftheworld)andis
movingtodevisepoliciesintherentlodgingservice(Leem,2016).
OneofthemanyreasonsAirbnbareagrowingcommodityisbecauseoftheir
affordability.Airbnballowconsumerswhoenjoytravelingtovisitanewplaceandstay
withahostwhohasbeen
screenedbythecompany.
AccordingtoAlanHenry’s
articleabout
Priceconomics,research
showedthat,onaverage,
peoplecouldsave“closeto
50%overahotelroomby
rentingaprivateroomonAirbnb,andcloseto22%byrentinganapartmentoverahotel
room”(Henry,2013).Ofcourse,savingswillvarydependingonthechosencity.
Additionally,thereisgreatpotentialforAirbnbtocollaboratewithtravelagencies.
InanarticlewrittenbyMathildeKhlat,sheclaimedinSeptember2014Airbnbwere
“making[their]firststepsintheworldofWorkCouncilsbysigningacommercial
partnershipwithProwebCE”(Khlat,2014).Throughthispartnership,Airbnbhopeto
gatheragreaterunderstandingoftheirbusinessconsumersinordertocatertotheirneeds.
ItshouldbenotedthatAirbnbhavealreadydedicatedapagetobusinesstravelersontheir
website.TheFranceDirectorofProwebCEsharedthat“businesstravelersrepresent10to
22
20%of[their]clientele.Itisanaxisthatisdeveloping,frommajorcompaniestosmaller
enterprises”(Khlat,2014).
Airbnb’spopularitycontinuestospillintothepop-culturerealmthroughcelebrities.
FortheWorldCup2014inBrazil,famoussoccerplayer,RonaldinhoGaúcho,puthishome
onAirbnbfor$15,000aday(Lang,2014).SingerBeyoncérentedaluxurioushomeinLos
AltosHills,Californiafor$10,000anighttostayatbeforeandafterherSuperBowl50
HalftimeperformanceinFebruary2016(Chan,2016).Pantherfootballplayer,Roman
Harper,placedhishomeonthesiteaswell.Fanswereabletorentouttheextravagantsuite
for$5,000.Inspiteofthehighprice,Harpersharedthattheproceedsweretogotocharity
(Mandell,2016).AndwhilethismayseemlikethefirsttimeAirbnbhavebeeninvolved
withcharity,itisnot.In2014,HurricaneSandyvictimsfoundthemselveswithoutahome;
withoutaplacewheretheycouldlaytheirheads.Ontheirwebsite,Airbnbsharesthat
1,400Airbnbhostscametotherescueandofferedaidtothevictims,whetheritwasa
warm,home-cookedmealorlistedtheirspacesforfree(Airbnb-AirbnbDisasterResponse,
n.d.).Sincethen,theyhaverespondedtovariousemergenciesaroundtheworld:“SanDiego
inresponsetomajorfires;Serbia,Bosnia,andCroatiaforpeopleaffectedbytheBalkan
floods;andLondon,Sardinia,andColoradoafterseriousfloodinghittheseregions”
(Airbnb-AirbnbDisasterResponse,n.d.).
● Potentialtoreachforeignaudiences,specificallyinChinaandKorea
● Chinahasalargesupplyofvacanthomes
● Dissatisfactionwithhotelsduetohighprices
● Couldexpandtotravelguidesandbeusedbytravelagentsinlieuofothersources
23
● CelebritiesareusingAirbnb(Beyonce,NFLplayerfromthe50thSuperBowl,and
Ronaldinho)
● Charityopportunities
Threats:
Unfortunately,Airbnbstillfacemanyissuestoday.Asmentionedbefore,theiridea,
whileinteresting,iseasilyreplicated.However,Airbnb’suniquesellingproposition(USP)is
thattravelerscanexperienceanotherculture,lifestyle,oranewcitybybookinganAirbnb
listing.Airbnbprovidetravelerswithanexperiencetheywillneverforget.HomeAwayand
XiaozhuarejustacoupleofthegrowingamountofcompetitorsforAirbnb.HomeAway
providethetravelerwiththeentirehomeandXiaozhuareslowlybutsurelygaining
momentuminChina,ruiningAirbnb’splanstocapturetheincreasingamountofChinese
travelers.Xiaozhu’sstrengthlargelycomesfromtheirin-depthunderstandingofthe
Chinesemarket.
Withabusinessmodelbasedsolelyoncommunicationbetweenrentersandhosts,
andAirbnbactingasthemiddlemen,complicationsareboundtoemerge.Theirfirstmajor
problemwasin2011whenahostnamedEJwroteablogpostexplaininghowher
apartmentwasransackedbyarenter:
Theysmashedaholethroughalockedclosetdoor,andfoundthepassport,
cash,creditcardandgrandmother’sjewelryIhadhiddeninside.Theytook
mycamera,myiPod,anoldlaptop,andmyexternalbackupdrivefilledwith
photos,journals…myentirelife…Thedeath-likesmellemanatingfromthe
24
bathroomwasfrightening(andstillis)andthebathroomsinkwascaked
withacrustyyellowsubstance(Bradford,2014).
ThisspecificincidentleadAirbnbtoenacttheircurrentinsurancepolicyforhosts.
Unfortunately,circumstances,suchastheonepreviouslymentioned,cannotbecontrolled
byAirbnbanddrawnegativeattentiontothecompanyandtheirconsumers.
Airbnb’seffectisglobal,butsoaretheregulations.Theprocessofpostingahomeon
thesite,hopingsomeonebecomesinterested,andcollectingmoneysoundssimplerthanit
actuallyis.ManyofthecitieswithAirbnbaccommodationsalsohavemanylocal
regulationsinregardstorentingoutahomeforbrieforlengthyperiodoftime(Williams-
Alvarez,2014).Forexample,in2014,agreatmajorityoftherentalsinNewYorkCity
(70%)wereconsideredillegalbecausehostsweredishonestandcheatingNewYork
officialsoutoftaxdollars.InNewYork,AttorneyGeneralEricSchneidermanreleaseda
reportonAirbnb,andstatedthatthecompany“likelyowedmillions”inunpaidtaxes
(Williams-Alvarez,2014).Atthesametime,NewYorkStateandNewYorkCity“imposea
numberoftaxesthatmayapplytoAirbnbhosts--liketheNewYorkCityHotelOccupancy
taxof5.875%”butbecausehostsarenotofficiallyoperatingashotels,theydonotpaythe
tax(Williams-Alvarez,2014).
Somegetawayunscathed,butothersarenotsolucky.NigelWarren,forinstance,
“wastoldbycityofficialsthatheowed$7,000infinesbecausehisAirbnbhostingviolated
thecity'sillegalhotellaw,”theMultipleDwellingLaw.Thelawprohibitsrentalsoflessthan
30daysin“ClassA”multipledwellings,oradwellingthatisoccupiedbythreeormore
familiesforpermanentresidencepurposes(Williams-Alvarez,2014).Theexceptiontothis
ruleisthatusersmayhostsomeonewhilethehost(oraroommate)ispresentduringthe
25
stay.Eventually,Warren’sfinewasoverturnedafteritwasbroughttolightthathis
roommatewaspresent(Williams-Alvarez,2014).
Essentially,itisextremelyimportantforhostsandtravelersaliketobeawareofcity
lawsandregulations.Comfortableaffordablehousingisunderstandablyinhighdemand,
andthemainreasonAirbnbarewhotheyare.However,ifAirbnbwanttocontinuetobe
relevantforalloftherightreasons,regulationsmustbeacknowledgedandfollowedto
ensurethesafetyofallpartiesinvolvedandtohelpprotectneighbors(Williams-Alvarez,
2014).
Lastly,Airbnb’slogohascomeunderfiremanytimesforitsseemingly“sexual
undertones”andanalarminglyglaringresemblancetotheexistinglogoofan11-year-old
ITautomationcompany,AutomationAnywhere,whohavesincechangedtheirlogo
(picturedontheleftintheimage)(Carr,2014).
Somebelievethelogolookslikeaheartmadeout
ofabentpaperclipandothersseegenitalia
(men’sorwomen’s,asnooneiscompletelysure)
(Carr,2014).InFastCompany’sarticleaboutthe
logo,AustinCarrreportedthatAirbnb’snewlogo
wasmeanttocombine“elementsofaheart,a
locationpin,aswellasthe"A"inAirbnb”(Carr,2014).Carraddedthelogowasdesigned
tobecustomizable.Itissimpleandcanbeeasilydrawn,butneverdrawnthesameway
twice,“areflectionofAirbnb'suniquecommunityofhosts”(Carr,2014).The“Bélo”,the
uniquenameforAirbnb’slogo,isthe“universalsymbolofbelonging”(Carr,2014).
AccordingtoAirbnb’sblog,Cheskywrote“it’saniconicmarkforourwindows,ourdoors,
26
andoursharedvalues.It’sasymbolthat,likeus,canbelongwhereverithappenstobe”
(Chesky,2014).Allintentionsaside,Airbnb’slogoissueprovesthatbrandingisagreat
challengeinthedigitalage,withtheinterneteasilyaccessibletomany.
● Becauseideaiseasilyreplicated,thereareagrowingamountofcompetitors
● Somepeoplehavenegativeexperienceswithhostsandorrenters
● Lawsuitsandfinesfornotfollowingtherulesandregulationsforcertainareas
● Controversiallogoandbranding
27
TargetAudience
SecondaryResearch
Tochooseatargetaudience,thereweremanysourcesusedtodeterminewhatthe
bestoptionswere.SarbjitNahal,HeadofThematicInvestingofBankofAmericaCorp.in
Londondiscussedthatmillennialsareusingexperiencestohelpshapetheiridentitiesand
creatingmemoriesthattheycansharewiththeirfriends,whichincludessportingevents,
thesharingeconomy,andtraveltonameafew.Inaddition,asurveybyHarrisPolland
EventbriteInc.foundthat“78%ofmillennialswouldratherpayforanexperiencerather
thanagood”(Costa,2016).
Thechosentargetaudience,adultsages18-34,includes67.6millionpeople
(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Inthistargetaudiencethefocuswasmillennialsof
bothprofessionalandstudentstandingbecausetheyareknowntotravelfrequently.InJuly
2014,AirbnblaunchedBusinessTravelonAirbnb,whichisa“servicethathelpsbusiness
travelers’searchandbookaccommodations”(Fuscaldo,2015).Consideringthis,itis
importanttoinvestigatewhetherthereisadifferenceinproductusebetweenthetwo
targetsegments.
InadditiontoAmericanmillennials,KoreanandChinesemillennialswerechosenas
well.Airbnbareaglobalservice,whoarereallytryingtobreakintotheAsianmarket.Itisa
largepopulationandhasanincreasednumberoftravelers.Itshouldbenotedthatwhile
AirbnbarestartingtoestablishthemselvesinChina,theyhaveyettobecomean
establishedsourceinKorea.AccordingtoLeeWoo-young,Gebbiashared“Koreawas
growingfasterthananyotherAsianmarketinitsaccommodationinformationsharing
service”(Lee,2013).Therehasbeena758%growthinthesharingeconomyintheKorean
28
market(Lee,2013).Airbnbcontinuetomakeeffortstoappealtothismarketbyproviding
Korean-languageservicetoincreasethenumberofKoreantourists.Thisinformationisan
integralpartindevelopingthecampaignstrategy.
SimmonsOneViewallowsforanunderstandingofwherethetargetaudiencecanbe
foundandwhattheirtravelhabitstheyarelikelytobe.AccordingtoSimmonsOneView,
adultsbetweentheagesof18-34aremorewillingtobooktravelaccommodationsthrough
asitetheyareunfamiliarwith[Table1inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView).Being
thatAirbnbisnotwell-known,thisisahelpfulconcept.Ofthisagegroup,59.4%have
traveleddomesticallyinthelast12months[Table2inAppendix]and37.9%[Table3in
Appendix]havetraveledtoforeigncountriesinthelastthreeyears(SimmonsResearch
OneView,n.d.).Thisshowsthatthetargetaudienceislikelytotravelandneedhotel
accommodations,whichprovidesAirbnbtheopportunitytoexpandtheirbusiness.
However,65.7%of18-34-year-oldsreservehotelsandmotelsastheirtravel
accommodations[Table4inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).
ImplicationsforCampaignStrategy
Withthisinformationandknowledge,thestrategyisguidedindirectionsthatwould
bebotheffectiveandethical.Thisknowledgewillhelptodevelopastrategythatorients
itselfinawaythatwillhelpAirbnbreachtheirtargetaudience.Thetargetaudiencetravels
oftenandwiththisinmind,thestrategywillleantowardstheirhabitsandallowfor
primitivetargetingbeforetheybooktheiraccommodations.
Finally,sincethecompanyistryingtoestablishthemselvesintheAsianmarket,
OverstepCommunicationssuggestthatthecampaignshouldalsotakeplaceinKorea.That
29
way,Airbnbwillexposethemselvestoawholebrandnewmarketandtakeadvantageof
attractingawholenewtargetaudience.
PrimaryResearch
Methodology
Thepurposeoftheprimaryresearchwastoexploreconsumers’decisionmakingin
hotelaccommodations,todiscoverconsumers’perceptionsofthebrand,andtolearnabout
productuseandfuturebehaviorintentions.Theoverallgoalofourresearchwastoseeif
thereareanydifferencesintravelhabitsandAirbnbusebetweenstudentsandfull-time
professionals.OverstepCommunicationsdevelopedaquestionnaireandconductedfour
focusgroupsinordertogaininsightfuldata.Boththequestionnaireandthefocusgroup
questionsareintheAppendix.
Thesamplingframeforthequestionnaireconsistedof50millennialsaged18-34.
Morespecifically,OverstepCommunicationsequallydividedmillennialsbyusingquota
samplingintofull-timestudentsandfull-timeworkingprofessionalssinceAirbnbis
appealingtobusinesstravelers.OverstepCommunicationsusedaconvenientsampling
techniquetoobtainmostofourparticipants.Also,OverstepCommunicationsuseda
snowball-samplingtechniquetoobtainmoreparticipantsforthestudy.Thequestionnaire
consistsofdifferentformats,includingopen-endedquestions,multiple-choicequestions,
andratingscales.StaffofOverstepCommunicationsconductedtelephoneinterviewsand
thesurveyswereconductedbetweenFebruary24,2016andMarch3,2016.Afterdatawas
collected,OverstepCommunicationsusedSPSS,astatisticalsoftware,toruntestsand
analyzethedataaswellasperformcontentanalysesonallopen-endedquestions.
30
Inadditiontothequestionnaire,OverstepCommunicationsdevelopedasampling
frameforthefocusgroupinasimilarmanner.EightKoreanmillennialsandeightChinese
millennialswerechosentoparticipate,alsoequallydividedintofull-timestudentsandfull-
timeworkingprofessionals.StaffofOverstepCommunicationsusedconvenientsampling
toselecttheparticipants.Therewerefourseparatefocusgroupsthatwereforeachgroup:
fourChinesestudents,fourChinesefull-timeprofessionals,fourKoreanstudents,andfour
Koreanfull-timeprofessionals.ParticipantsengagedinaSkypevideocall,andeachwere
performedinChineseorKorean,andthentranslatedintoEnglish.TheChinesefocus
groupstookplaceonFebruary26,2016andFebruary27,2016whiletheKoreanfocus
groupstookplaceonFebruary27,2016.Questionsfocusedonconsumers’decisionmaking
forhotelaccommodations,productuse,andfuturebehaviorintentions.Afterfocusgroups
werecompleted,OverstepCommunicationssummarizedalloftheresponses.
ResultsofQuestionnaireandImplicationsfortheCampaignStrategy
Afterperformingavarietyofdifferentstatisticaltesting,includingt-tests,chi-
square,andcorrelations,ourresearchwillprovidesignificantinsightforAirbnb’s
campaignstrategy.OverstepCommunications’researchdeterminedthattherearenot
manysignificantdifferencesbetweenstudents’andprofessionals’usesofAirbnb’sservices.
TravelHabits
Oneofthefirstthingsparticipantsindicatedweretheirtravelhabits.Bothgroups,
studentsandprofessionals,travelforbusiness,leisure,andtovisitfamilyandfriends.Our
dataindicatethattherearenotanysignificantdifferencesbetweenprofessionalsand
studentswhentravelingforbusiness,leisure,andfamilyorfriends[Output1inappendix].
31
However,asseenontheleft,ourdatadescribethatonaverage,participantstravelmoreto
visitfamilyandfriends[Output2inAppendix].Yet,ofalloftheparticipants,asawhole,
travelforbusinesslessthantheytravelforleisureortovisitfamilyandfriends.
Itwasalsodiscoveredthatparticipantshavedifferentexpectationsfromeachofthe
travels.Inordertodeterminewhatthosegainswere,OverstepCommunicationsconducteda
contentanalysisoneachoftheopen-endedresponses.Forbusinesstravels,threethemes
wererevealedfromtheresponses:experience,connections,andother.Participantswantto
gainevenmoreexperienceabroadinanotherlocation,whilenetworkingfrompeoplein
differentlocations.Forleisuretravels,responseswerecategorizedintorelaxation,
experience,entertainment/fun,visitation,andother.Oneparticipanttravelsforleisure“to
exploreanewcityandsometimescountriesandcultures,andtotrydifferentfood,thatismy
numberone,andalsomeetdifferentpeople.”Anotherparticipantstatedthat“traveling
makesyoudiscoveryourself.”Therewasacommontrendamongpeoplewhotravelfor
leisure:respondentshopetogainrelaxationduringthetrip.Somedescribedthatleisure
travelshelpsthemescapefromthestressthatcomesfromschoolorwork.
Finally,forvisitingfamilyandfriends,responseswerecategorizedintofour
categories:bonding,catchingup,seeingthem,andother.Participantsdescribedthatby
visitingfamilyandfriends,theycanbuildbetterrelationshipsandremainincontactwith
them.Intermsofseasonality,participantsdiscussedthattheytravelthemostinsummer
[Output3inAppendix].Nevertheless,full-timeprofessionalsaremorelikelytotravelalone
thanstudentsare[Output4inAppendix].
Implications
32
Ourdatademonstratethatthereareavarietyofreasonswhypeopletravelandthere
isbenefitstravelerswanttogainfromtheirtrip.Sinceparticipantstravelmoreperyearto
visitfriendsandfamily,thecampaignshouldfocusonhowAirbnbcanbeaneasyand
inexpensivewaytoseeothers.Travelersdonothavetobookahotelinordertovisitfamily
andfriends.Inaddition,sincerespondentsexpressedthattheyhopetogainmemorable
experiencesfromtravelingforleisure,itisimportantthatOverstepCommunicationsdisplay
inthecampaignthattravelershavetheopportunitytoimmersethemselvesinthecultureof
theirchosendestination.However,manyoftherespondentsdonottravelforbusinessas
often.Therefore,itisnotimperativetoincludebusinesstravelsinAirbnb’scampaign.
Further,ourdataindicatethatparticipantstravelmoreinthesummer,andthatcanhelp
withthecampaigntimeline.OverstepCommunicationsshoulddevelopatimelineinwhich
thereareheavyamountsofadvertisingduringFebruary,March,andApril,whentravelers
bookaccommodationsforsummergetaways.
ConcernsWhenBookingaHotelRoom
Ontheotherhand,thereareseveraldifferencesamongdifferentgroupswithconcerns
whenbookingahotelroom.Itwasfoundthatfemalesaremoreconcernedwiththesecurity
oftheroomthanmales.However,bothmalesandfemalesscoredalmostsimilarlyinallother
concerncategories[Output5inAppendix].Bothgendersaremostconcernedwiththe
cleanlinessandsecurityoftheareawhiletheyareleastconcernedwiththesizeoftheroom.
Despitehavinggenderdifferences,therearenotanysignificantdifferencesbetweenfull-time
33
professionalsandstudentswhenbookingahotelroom[Output6inAppendix].Both
segmentsaremostconcernedwithsecurityoftheareaandcleanlinessandareleast
concernedwiththesizeoftheroom.
Implications
OverstepCommunicationsassumedcleanliness,security,andthesizeoftheroom
wouldbeimportanttoconsumers.Withthatsaid,itisevidentthatcleanlinessandsecurity
arethemoreimportantfactorsformalesandfemales,studentsandprofessionalsalike.
Clearly,OverstepCommunicationsmustconsiderthesefactorswhencreatingAirbnb’s
campaigninordertoensurethatconsumersviewAirbnbinafavorablelight.Nomatterthe
sizeoftheroomorhomeanAirbnbusermayrent,OverstepCommunicationswantto
portrayallofitslistingsassafealternativesfortraditionalmethodslikehotels.
FirstWordsThatCometoMind
AfterindicatingwhetherornotrespondentshaveheardofAirbnb,theystatedthefirst
wordsthatcametomindwhenhearingtheword“Airbnb.”Responseswerecategorizedinto
fivesections:positivewords,negativewords,neutralwords,wordsassociatedwithtravel,
andother.SomepositiveassociationsindicatedthatAirbnbare“cheap”and“convenient”
whileothersassociatedAirbnbwith“sketchy”and“notforme.”However,20participants
associatedAirbnbwithtravelwithwordssuchas“bedandbreakfast”and“travel.”Others
connectAirbnbwith“couch”and“newtypeofeconomy,”whichdoesnotfitintheother
categories.
34
Implications
WhilesomeresponsesOverstepCommunicationsreceivedpositivelyassociated
Airbnbwithconvenience,affordability,andauniquewayofalteringtheeconomyforthe
better,thereisstillasignificantamountofindividualswhofeelskepticismtowardsthe
company.Thismaybeduetoalackofunderstandingofthecompany,orjustalackof
knowledgeaboutAirbnb’sexistence.Inordertoreduceskepticism,Overstep
Communicationshavetomakesurethatthechosentargetaudiencehasaclear
understandingofwhoAirbnbareandwhattheydofortheeconomy.Additionally,Overstep
CommunicationshouldattempttocreateanoveralllastingpositiveassociationwithAirbnb
andtheTA’ssubconscious.
FeelingsAboutAirbnb
AlongwithanalyzingwordsassociatedwithAirbnb,OverstepCommunications
conductedanothercontentanalysisonhowrespondentsexpressedtheirfeelingswhenthey
thoughtabouttheword“Airbnb.”Responseswerecategorizedintofoursections:positive,
neutral,negative,andunrelated.Therewere20positivefeelingsassociatedwithAirbnb.One
respondentthoughtaboutAirbnbas“somethingnewandinterestingtotry”andanothersaid
thatitwas“good,Ilikesharingservices.Ithinktheyareinnovative.”Afewparticipants
commentedabouttheirfeelingsafterusingAirbnbandstatedthat“Ifeelgood,Iusedit
beforeandIhadgoodexperiences”whileanotherindicated“IenjoyedusingAirbnbmore
thanusingahotel.”WhilesomeparticipantshadpositivefeelingstowardsAirbnb,somefelt
35
neutralaboutit,sayingtheyfeltfineorindifferent.However,13participantsdescribedthat
theyfeltskepticaloftheserviceandthoughttheideaofitisveryquestionable.Therestof
theparticipantsfeltthingsthatareunrelatedtoAirbnb.Forexample,oneparticipant
describedAirbnbasairplane-related.
Implications
SimilarlytotheimplicationsofFirstWordsThatCometoMind,participantsexpressed
somepositiveandnegativefeelingstowardsthecompany.Thismeansthatthecampaign
needstochangethenegativefeelingsintopositiveones,sonon-userscansignuptobecome
amember.Withthatbeingsaid,OverstepCommunicationsshouldfocusoninformingthe
targetaudiencethatAirbnbisdependable,andaneasyandconvenientalternativetohotel
reservationsandwillallowthemtoexperiencethecultureofthedestinationinamore
personalway.WhilesomerespondentsareawareofAirbnb,thetargetaudienceisnot
properlyinformedaboutallthebenefitsthatcomealongwiththeservice.
StayingwithaHostDuringTravels
Morespecifically,OverstepCommunicationsaskedparticipantsiftheywereokay
withthehostbeingpresentduringtheirstayinanAirbnbaccommodation.Ofthe50
participants,19indicatedthattheyarefinewiththeideaoftheownerstayingduringthe
travel.Ontheotherhand,15participantswerenotokaywiththearrangementwhilethe
remainingparticipantsfeltthatitdependedonthesituation.Onespecificrespondent
36
expressedthatit“depends,arethereotherpeopletheretoo?IftherearemorepeopleIam
okaywithit.Ifitisjustus,lesscomfortable.”
Implications
MuchlikeFirstWordsThatCometoMindandFeelingsAboutAirbnb,skepticismis
undoubtedlyanunderlyingfactorwhenstayinginanystranger’shome.Asexpected,
OverstepCommunicationshavetomakesurethathostsandtravelersalikefeelcomfortable
withoneanother.Airbnbstresstheimportanceofbuildingtrustbetweenhostsand
travelers,asdoingsohelpsmaintainthe“homey”feelofatraveler’sstay.Additionally,
OverstepCommunicationswanttoportrayhostsnotasstrangers,butasculturalmentors;
peoplewhoteachtravelersaboutdifferentaspectsoftheculture,alongwithgenerating
positivepersonalrelationships.OverstepCommunicationsalsoexpectedtohearthat
individualswouldfeelmorecomfortablewithfriendsbeingpresentduringtheirstay.With
thisinformation,OverstepCommunicationsshouldensurethattravelers,whetheraloneor
not,arecompletelysafeinthehomesofAirbnbhosts,whoaresubjecttobackgroundchecks
atanymoment.
FutureUseofAirbnb
Anotherfindinginourresearchisthattherearedifferencesamongthedifferent
groupsofpeopleandhowlikelytheyaregoingtouseAirbnbinthefuture.Contrarytowhat
wasexpected,womenaremorelikelythanmentouseAirbnbinthefuture[Output7in
37
Appendix].Nonetheless,thereisnotasignificantdifferencebetweenfull-timeprofessionals
andstudentswhenusingAirbnbinthefuture[Output8inAppendix].
Implications
Asmentionedabove,OverstepCommunicationsexpectedtoseethatmenweremore
likelytouseAirbnbinthefuturethanwomen,andstudentstouseAirbnbmorethan
professionals.Becausethatwasnotthecase,OverstepCommunicationswouldliketo
understandwhatexactlypreventsmaleconsumersfromusingtheservice.Indoingso,
OverstepCommunicationscangeneratemoreactionfromthemaleportionofthetarget
audience.Interestingly,studentsandprofessionalsusetheserviceprettysimilarly,
supportingAirbnb’sclaimtoreachadiverseaudienceinterestedinexploringandusingthe
service.
ThoughtsofParticipantsWhoHaveNeverHeardofAirbnb
Ofthe50participants,onlynineneverheardofAirbnb.Onan11-pointratingscale,
withzerobeingleastlikelyandtenbeingmostlikely,thataskedparticipantstheirfuture
intentionstouseAirbnb,theaveragewas3.6[Output9inAppendix].Thisshowsthatthose
whohavenotheardofAirbnbaremostlikelynotgoingtouseit.Inaddition,respondents
ratedtrustworthinessreallylow,andgavemoderatescorestoconvenienceanddependence
[Output10inAppendix].
Implications
38
OverstepCommunicationsbelievethatthelowratingoftrustworthinessissimplydue
tothelackofknowledgethisportionofpeoplehaveaboutAirbnb.Onewaytodevelopthe
knowledgeincreasesistoenhancetheemphasisonthetrustworthinessinthecampaignand
showwhatgoesintoallowingapersontohost.Therearestepstakentoensuretrustworthy
homeownersarelendingtheirhomestoarenter.Thecampaignwillstresstheprocessof
becomingahosttoalleviatethefearsandskepticismsofthosewhoareunfamiliarwith
Airbnb.
ResultsofChineseFocusGroups
IntheChinesefocusgroup,priceandentertainmentwerementionedasthemain
factorsthatinfluencebothprofessionalsandstudentstochooseadestinationwhenthey
travel.Locationandlocalfacilitiessuchashospitalsandgyms,generatedasimilarresponse,
inthatprofessionalsandstudentsbothappreciatetheareaandprovidedamenitieswhen
choosingahotelroom.Thereisadifferencebetweenprofessionalsandstudentsandtheir
concernswithbookingahotelroom:professionalsareconcernedwithgettingtheirmoney’s
worthandlocation.Forstudents,theythinksafetyisaconcern.Althoughallofthe
participantshaveusedsharingservicesbefore,threeoftheprofessionalshaveneverheard
aboutAirbnb.OnlytwostudentshadusedAirbnbbefore,andtheyhadfavorable
experiences.
AfterexplainingwhoAirbnbareandtheirservices,noneoftheprofessionalswere
interestedinusingAirbnbinthefuture.Although,oneprofessionalparticipantexpressedan
39
interestinusingAirbnbaslongasthelistingisnotinChina.Theresponsesforwhether
participantsarecomfortablewiththehostbeingpresentarealmostsameforboth
professionalsandstudents.Somepeoplethinktheyarecomfortableandsomearenot.Only
oneoutoftheeightparticipantstrustAirbnb’sservice.
Implications
Fromourfocusgroupsresults,thereisclearlyadifferencebetweenprofessionalsand
studentswhenitcomestousingAirbnb.ProfessionalsarenotawareofAirbnb,andtheyare
notinterestedinusingtheminthefuture.ProfessionalscangainmoretrusttowardsAirbnb
iftheyhearabouttheirfriends’experiencesusingthem.Inthisway,Overstep
Communicationsshouldallowpeopletosharetheirexperiencesthroughsocialmedia.In
addition,informationregardingsafetyshouldalsobeincludedinthecampaigntohelp
studentstrustAirbnbsincetheyvaluesafetythemost.Aftertrustisestablishedthroughthe
campaign,Chinesestudentsshouldbemorewillingtosignupforamembership.
ResultsofKoreanFocusGroups
TherewasnotmuchofadifferenceinattitudebetweenKoreanprofessionalsand
students,inregardstoAirbnb,buttherearesomeresponsesthatwouldbehelpfulfor
Airbnbtoconsider.Forexample,priceisanimportantfactorwhenbookingtravel
accommodations.WhenOverstepCommunicationsinquiredabouttheuseofAirbnb,
professionalsproposedusingtheirfirstexperiencestodeterminewhetherornottheywould
useAirbnb.Thisprovesthattheirfirstexperiencesareextremelyimportant,especiallyfora
40
newcompanywithlittleawarenesslikeAirbnb.WhenOverstepCommunicationsasked
abouttheirtrustinAirbnb’sservices,bothprofessionalsandstudentssaidthattheydonot
trustAirbnbbecause“itisnoteasytotrustastranger.”
Implications
Basedonthefocusgroupresults,OverstepCommunicationsmadesome
recommendationsforthecampaignstrategy.Themainobjectivewouldbetoreducesafety
concernsandincreasetrust,sothatKoreanswillbemoreinterestedinbookinganAirbnb
accommodation.ByprovidinginformationaboutthepriceandhowinexpensiveAirbnbcan
be,Airbnbwouldbemoreappealingtothetargetaudience.Moreover,byfeaturingthesafety
featuresofanAirbnblisting,theycanhelpbuildtrustbetweenhostsandtravelers.
SynthesisofSecondaryandPrimaryResearch
TheSecondaryResearchprovidedOverstepCommunicationswithasolid
foundationfortheSituationAnalysis,SWOT,andtargetaudience.However,Overstep
CommunicationsutilizedtheirPrimaryResearchinordertounderstandtheproposed
targetaudienceforthiscampaign.Essentially,OverstepCommunicationspulledallofthe
informationandcombineditsothatthereisabetterunderstandingofthetargetaudience,
anditstravelhabits,perceptionsandattitudesofAirbnb,anditsmediause.Therewerenot
anyconflictinginformationbetweenthePrimaryandSecondaryResearch.
TargetAudienceRecommendations
BasedonPrimaryandSecondaryResearch,thetargetaudienceforthiscampaignis
American,Chinese,andKoreanmillennials,whoare18-34years-old.Whiletherearenot
41
anydifferencesbetweenstudentsandprofessionalsintheU.S.andKorea,thereareinfact
slightdifferencesbetweenChinesestudentsandprofessionals.Thereare67.6million
Americanmillennialsbetweentheagesof18and34(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).
Meanwhile,thereare415millionmillennialsinChina,whichisgreaterthantheworking
populationofboththeU.S.andWesternEurope(Browne,2015).Also,basedonthe
populationprojectionsbyStatisticsKorea,thereare10.4millionKoreanmillennials
(StatisticsKorea,2015).
AmericanProblem:Security
BasedonourPrimaryResearch,securityisoneofthebiggestproblemsthat
Americansareconcernedwith.ZakStone,writerandeditor,wrotepositivelyaboutstartup
companies,likeAirbnb,fornumerouspublicationsinthepast(Kerkvliet,2015).Stone
bookedahousefromAirbnbwithhisfamilytospendThanksgiving.Thepropertyhad
additionalfeaturessuchasaropeswingattachedtoatree.Whenhisfathergotonthe
swing,alargepieceofthetreestruckhisheadandkilledhim(Bonnington,2015).While
tragic,Stone’sfamilyarenottheonlyoneswhoexperiencedtragedywhileusinganAirbnb
listing.InDecember2013,aCanadianwomanbookedanaccommodationthroughAirbnb
andstayedinTaiwanforaweddingwithfiveofherfriends.ThatCanadianwomansuffered
fromcarbonmonoxidepoisoningfromaleakingwaterheaterandalackofproper
ventilationinherAirbnbrental(Stone,2015).InLivingandDyingonAirbnb,Stonewrote
that“hotelroomsarestandardizedforsafety,monitoredbystaff,andoftenquite
expensive.Airbnbrentals,ontheotherhand,areunregulated,eclectic,andaffordable,and
thesafetystandardsareonlyslowlymaterializing”(Stone,2015).Thisisanissuethat
42
mightpreventthetargetaudiencefromwantingtotryAirbnb,sincetheycouldbe
presentedwithariskysituationwhileusingthem.
AmericanProblem:Cleanliness
BasedonourPrimaryResearch,cleanlinessisanotherthingmostpeopleare
concernedwith.OnAirbnb’swebsite,itsaidhostsneedto“ensurethatyourlisting’s
bedroomsandcommonareasarecleanedbeforeeachguest’sarrival.Thisisincluding
changinglinensandcleaningsurfacesinthebathroomandkitchen”(Airbnb-Hospitality
Standards,n.d.).Therearestillsomeguestswhohadbadcleanlinessexperiences(Mulligan,
2012).Unlikehotels,Airbnbdonothaveastandardofcleanliness.Inthisway,whenpeople
choosetostayinanapartment,theyaretakingagamble.Mostofthetime,thegamble
resultsinamorepositiveoverallexperience.However,therearestilltimeswhentheriskis
notworthit(Mulligan,2012).
WhileAirbnboffertheoptionforhoststohaveprofessionalphotostakenoftheir
homes,thereisstillskepticismonthereliabilityofthephotos.Becausetravelerscannot
uploadtheirownpicturesinreviews,peopleresorttopostingonsocialmediatoexpose
therealityoftheconditionsontheAirbnblisting[Photo1inAppendix](Mulligan,2012).
AmericanProblem:SocialMediaandRacialDiscrimination
BasedontheSimmonsdata,Americans18-34usesocialmediamorethananyother
agegroup.Whileitcanbeanopportunity,itismoreofachallengeforAirbnb.Aunique
characteristicofsocialmediaisthatthereisawidespreadofstories,newsandopinions
easilyaccessibletoanyoneatanygiventime.Therehavebeenissuesaboutmistreatment
andevenracialdiscriminationinvolvingAirbnbhostsandtravelers(McPhate,2015).
AccordingtoanarticlebyMikeMcPhatefromTheNewYorkTimes,apaperbythree
43
Harvardresearchersfound“widespreaddiscrimination”byhostsagainstpeoplewith
Black-soundingnamesseekingrentals(McPhate,2015).Totestthisnotion,fictionalguests
withnameslikeLakishaorRasheedwerecreated.Itwasfoundthattheywere16%less
likelytobeacceptedthanidenticalguestswithnameslikeBrentorKristen(McPhate,
2015).Ourtargetedagegroupisanaviduserofsocialmediaandmaybeexposedto
negativeissues,liketheoneabove,associatedwithAirbnb.
AmericanOpportunity:Experience
ItwasreportedinTheAtlanticthat“themillennialgeneration…ismoreinterested
thanoldergenerationsintravelingabroadasmuchaspossible—bya23-percentage-point
margin”(Machado,2014).MachadoclaimedtheUnitedNationsestimatedthat20%ofall
internationaltouristsareyoungpeople.Additionally,thesemillennialtravelersare
generatingmorethan$180billioninannualtourismrevenue.Further,thearticledescribed
thatmillennialscarelessaboutsoakingupthesunandmoreabout“exploringmoreremote
destinations,stayinginhostelsinsteadofhotels,andchoosinglong-termbackpackingtrips
insteadoftwo-weekjaunts”(Machado,2014).
ChinaandKoreanProblem:Culture
TheproblemsrelatedtothetargetaudiencearethesameinbothChinaandKorea,
sincetheirculturesaresimilar.ChineseandKoreanshavebelievedinConfucianismfor
thousandsofyears,andinthisphilosophy,thehomeisaprivatespace(Parente&
Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.66).IncomparisontoAmericans,ChineseandKoreans
aremorelikelytoputfamilyandthehomeaspriorities.Inthisway,ChineseandKoreans
donotliketorenttheirspareroomtostrangers,andpeopledonotliketoliveatstrangers’
houseseither.Thesepatternsarealsoshowninourfocusgroup’sresult.
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ChineseandKoreanProblem:Trust
TheissueoftrustisthebiggestprobleminbothChinaandKorea(Mahahan,2015).
ItwasapparentinourPrimaryResearchthatbothChineseandKoreansalikedonottrust
Airbnb.OneconclusionfromtheKoreanfocusgroupwasthattheydonottrustAirbnb’s
servicesbecauseKoreanmillennials
experienceanxietywhenthereisa
lackoftrustbetweenhostsand
travelers.Moreover,basedonapoll
fromTheWallStreetJournalthatwas
conductedon2,300Koreancollege
studentsaskingabout
trustworthiness,itshowedthatthey
trustonly8.4%ofstrangersand7.7%ofcorporatepeople(Jun,2015).
FrancisFukuyamaarguedinhisbook“Trust”thattherearetwotypesoftrust:high
trustcultureandlowtrustculture(Huang,n.d.).Lowtrustcultures,likeChina,value
personaltrust,meaningtheycanonlytrustanotherpersoniftheyhaveapersonal
relationshipwiththatperson(Huang,n.d.).FortheChinese,trustiseasilygainedifthereis
anexistingconnectionviathefamilyornetworkof“in-groups”(Huang,n.d.).Withoutthose
connectionsitcantakealongtimebeforetrustisestablished(Huang,n.d.).
ChineseProblem:Awareness
Chinahasbeenawareoftheconceptofthesharingeconomysince2015
(Zhongguozhisheng,2016).CompanieslikeAirbnbandUberarefairlynewtothetarget
audience.AlthoughpeopleareusingsimilarservicestoUberalotintheirdailylives,there
45
arestillpeopleinChinaandKoreathathaveneverheardaboutAirbnb.Itwillalsobehard
forpeopletoacceptthisnewserviceinthefuturebecauseaccordingtotheresultsfromthe
focusgroups,noneoftheChineseprofessionalswouldliketouseAirbnb.
ChineseOpportunity:AbundanceofTravelers
Therearenearly1.4billionpeoplelivinginChina.Thisnumberisequivalentto
18.72%oftheentireworld’spopulation(Worldometers,2016).Evidently,Chinadefinitely
playsanimportantpartintheglobalmarket,andAirbnbwillhavemanyopportunities
there.Itwasfoundthat“thetotalnumberoftripsabroadfromChinaisestimatedat109
millionin2014.Chinaistheworld’slargestoutboundtravelmarketsince2012,withatotal
expenditureof$129billionin2013”(UNWTO,2015).In2014,thereweremorethan259
millionChinesetravelerswhobookedtheirtripsonline,and80%ofthisnumberbooked
theirtripsontheirmobiledevices(Xinhua,2016).AccordingtotheTravelChinaGuide
therewere“133.8millioninboundtourists,includingforeignersandtouristsfromHong
Kong,Macau,andTaiwan.56.8857millionstayedovernightinChina,anincreaseof4.1%
and2.3%comparedwiththesameperiodin2014”[Chart1inAppendix](TravelChina
Guide,2015).
KoreanOpportunity:AbundanceofTravelers
BasedontheKoreanstatistics,thereisaconstantincreaseoftravelerswhotravel
overnight(StatisticsKorea,2015).Moreover,thereisaconstantincreaseofKoreanswho
travelinternationally.ThereisanabundanceofKoreantravelers;therefore,Airbnbcan
takeadvantageofthisopportunityandpositionitselfasapreferredaccommodationsource
[Charts2and3inAppendix](StatisticsKorea,2015).
46
47
CampaignGoals MarketingGoal
Airbnbprovideservicesthatneedtobemoreestablished.Overstep
CommunicationsbelievethatAirbnbneedtohavemoremembersfromaroundtheglobe.
TheintentoftheMarketingGoalistoincreasethenumberofmembersonAirbnb’s
website.WhenpeoplevisitAirbnb.com,theyhavetheoptionofsigninguptobecomea
member.Indoingso,theywillbeabletocreateaprofileandgaintheopportunitytosearch
forlistings.
Searchingthroughlistingsmayleadtobookings.Throughanincreasedpurchase
rate,repeatpurchasesaremorelikelytooccur.Thesignuprateshouldbeincreasedby
10%bytheendofthecalendaryear,December31,2017.Byaccumulatingmoremembers,
alongwithmaintainingthosewhoalreadyusetheservice,Airbnbwillpositionthemselves
asthego-toserviceandestablishplaceinthemarket.
CampaignTimeline
AmericanCampaign
BasedonourPrimaryResearch,whichstatesthatmostAmericanstravelduringthe
summer,OverstepCommunicationsshouldmainlyputtheadvertisementsonthemedia
outletsfromJanuary2017toAugust2017becausethesearethetimeswhenpeoplebook
summervacations.OverstepCommunicationswouldlikefortheadvertisementstobe
exposedallothermonthsoftheyear,creatingapulsingmediamodel.Indoingso,Overstep
CommunicationswillbeabletoestablishawarenessofAirbnbwhenthetargetaudience
beginsplanningtheirsummertrips.Further,beginninginJanuarygivesthetargetaudience
48
ampletimetogetaclearunderstandingoftheservicesAirbnbprovideandbecomea
member.
KoreanCampaign
AccordingtotheTraveltimes,basedontheresearchdonebyCriteoKorea,most
Koreanstravelbetweenmid-JanuaryandearlySeptember.Inaddition,peopletendto
spendmostoftheirbudgetduringspringfortravelaccommodations(Son,2016).
Therefore,OverstepCommunicationsshouldfocusonputtingadvertisementsonthemedia
outletsheavilyduringthespringseason,whichisMarchthroughMay.Overstep
Communicationswouldliketocreateapulsingmediamodelinordertoreducethebudget
forqualitywhilestillbeinganeffectivewaytoreachthetargetaudience.
ChineseCampaign
InChina,itwasfoundthatthefirstweekofOctoberistheweekthattheChinese
populationtravelsmost(ChinaHighlights,2015).Almosthalfofthecountry’sinhabitants
travelduringthesedays(Lu,2015).UnliketheAmericancampaign,Overstep
Communicationsdecidedtheadvertisementsshouldrunthroughouttheyear,increasing
fromMarchtoOctober,mimickingthepulsingmediamodel.
CommunicationGoals
AmericanMarket
Afterfurtherdeliberation,OverstepCommunicationsconcludedthat,currently,
affordabilityandconveniencearecommonphrasesusedbythetargetaudiencewhen
describingAirbnb.However,themainchallengewithtargetingtheAmericanaudienceis
reducingskepticismandindifferencetowardsAirbnb.OverstepCommunicationsdecided
tobaseourmethodsonatraditionallearningmodel.
49
Asstatedbefore,cognitively,Airbnbisinitiallymetwithunawarenessand
skepticismwiththeAmericantargetaudience.Basedonourprimaryresearch,13
participantsexpressedthattheyfeltskepticaloftheserviceandthoughttheideaofitis
veryquestionable.AgreatportionofthetargetaudiencehasheardofAirbnb,butnotmany
haveactuallyvisitedthesiteandusedtheservice.Withthatsaid,thereisalargevoid
betweenthecognitiveandaffectivecomponentsofourmodelandgettingthetarget
audiencetovisitthewebsiteandlearnmoreaboutAirbnb.Inordertogetthetarget
audiencetovisitthewebsitetogatherinformationandreduceskepticismand
unawareness,OverstepCommunicationshavetoprovidethetargetaudiencewithmore
informationaboutAirbnbandtheirbenefitsthroughAirbnb’sadvertisements.Essentially,
Airbnbmustbuildbrandequityamongthetargetaudiencesothatthetargetaudience
associatespositivethoughtsandfeelingswiththeservice(Parente&Strausbaugh-
Hutchinson,2015,p.119).TheadvertisementswillemphasizetheUSP,whichisAirbnbcan
providetravelingexperiencesthatuserswillneverforget.Further,oncethecognitiveand
affectivecomponentshavechanged,OverstepCommunicationspredictasignificantchange
inthebehavioralcomponent,aswell,withthetargetaudiencebeingmorelikelytosignup
andbecomeamemberofAirbnb.
KoreanMarket
Affectively,themainobstaclewithtargetingtheKoreanaudienceisalackoftrust
betweenAirbnbandpotentialusers.TheKoreantargetaudiencesharedthat,despitetheir
lackofknowledgeoftheservice,theywouldbewillingtouseAirbnbtodeterminewhether
ornottheywoulduseitagaininthefuture.Consequently,thereisavoidbetweenthe
affectiveandbehavioralcomponents.Thevoidpreventsthetargetaudiencefrom
50
experimentingwithAirbnb,thuspreventingfromformingopinionsaboutthem.IfOverstep
CommunicationswanttoincreasesignupsforAirbnbmembership,theymustbuildbrand
loyaltyandfocussolelyonbrandingAirbnbasatrustworthyservicetotheKoreantarget
audience.
ChineseProfessionalsMarket
InadditiontotheKoreanmarket,Chineseprofessionalshaveahardtimetrusting
Airbnb,andthispreventsthemfromvisitingthewebsite.AsexpectedbyOverstep
Communications,Chineseprofessionals’lackoftrustisrootedinalackofknowledgeofthe
service.Thus,thevoidinthisparticularmodelisaftertheaffectiveandcognitive
componentsandbeforethebehavioralsection.OverstepCommunicationsdecidedthebest
waytoapproachthismarketistoappealheavilytotheiremotionsandtoprojectAirbnbas
asafeanddependablealternative.DoingsowillmotivateChineseprofessionalstovisit
Airbnb’swebsite,becomeawareoftheservice,andlearntotrustAirbnb.Further,Overstep
CommunicationsexpectChineseprofessionalstosignupandbecomemembersofAirbnb.
Throughthismethod,OverstepCommunicationshopetoobtainChineseprofessionalsas
loyalconsumers.
ChineseStudentsMarket
SimilarlytoAmericans,themainchallengeingettingChinesestudentstosignupfor
amembershipisreducingtheirnegativefeelingsaboutsafetyconcernswhenbookingan
Airbnbtravelarrangement.Furthermore,OverstepCommunicationsdecidedthatthe
communicationgoalisonceagainbasedoffthetraditionallearningmodel.
Again,accordingtothefocusgroup,ChinesestudentsthinkthatAirbnbisunsafe.
However,studentsmaystillbewillingtobookanAirbnblisting,butstillhavesafety
51
concernsinthebackoftheirminds.Therefore,thevoidinthistraditionallearningmodelis
betweenhowthetargetaudiencefeelsandtheirbehavior.Justlikethecommunicationgoal
fortheAmericantargetaudience,thecampaignneedstobuildbrandequitysothatthe
targetaudienceismorewillingtouseAirbnb,andviewitasareliableandsafealternative
tohotels(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.119).
52
RecommendedCreative,MediaandPromotionalStrategies
CreativeApproach
Forthecreativestrategy,thereareafewideasthatwouldbebeneficialtoAirbnb.
Thetargetaudienceisexposedtohighadclutter.Ithasbeensaidthatpeopleareexposed
to3,000advertisementsperday(Myszewski,2015).Withthisinmind,inordertocapture
thetargetaudienceinawaythatmakesalargeimpression,theadmustbeeye-catching
andunique.Thechosenmediawillallowforgreaterimpactandresonationwiththetarget
audience.Theadswillbeunobtrusivetotheirlives.OverstepCommunicationsunderstand
thatpeopledonotlikebeingbotheredbyadvertisements,suchaspop-upadverstisements,
sobycreatingunobtrusive,yetcreativeandattention-grabbingversions,therewillbeno
harmdonetothetargetaudience.Theappealswillbebothemotionalandinformative
sincetheTAsinallmarketshavesomedegreeofalackoftrust,lackofawareness,and
safetyconcernswithAirbnb.
AccordingtotheFCBGrid,whichisaresourcethathelpsdevelopanadcampaign
creativestrategy,Airbnbprovideahighinvolvementservice(Parente&Strausbaugh-
Hutchinson,2015,p.178).Becauseofthis,Airbnbfallintoboththeinformationaland
affectivequadrants.ThetargetaudienceneedsaclearunderstandingonwhatAirbnbhave
tooffer,andestablishaconnectiontoAirbnb(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.
179).Inaddition,thiscampaignneedstoaddressAirbnb’suniquesellingproposition
(USP),whichisthatafterbookingwithAirbnb,userscantemporarilyexperiencewhat
livingislikeinanotherlife.Whetherthatisexperiencinganotherculture,lifestyle,or
simplyanewcity,Airbnbprovideanexperiencetravelerswillneverforget.Byfeaturing
theUSPinthecampaign,itwillallowfora“persuasiveadvantage”andwill“force
53
competitorstoimitateorchoose[a]moreaggressivestrategy”(Parente&Strausbaugh-
Hutchinson,2015,p.181).
AftergoingthroughtheOstrowModel[OstrowModelinAppendix]andanalyzing
themarketingfactors,copyfactors,andmediafactorsthataffectcreativefrequency,
OverstepCommunicationsdecidedthatafrequencyof4.1needstobeestablished.Airbnb
havemanycompetitorsandalowmarketshare.Additionally,thisisgoingtobeanew
campaignthatisgoingtoutilizeimagetypecopyinordertoportrayfeelingsoftrustand
safety.Further,thereisgoingtobehighadclutterthroughouttheinternet,andthe
attentivenessfortheseadswillmostlikelybelow.Therefore,thefrequencyforthis
campaignisrelativelyhigh.
MediaStrategy
American
OverstepCommunicationsrecommendusingnontraditionalmedia.Nontraditional
mediaincludeonlineadvertisementsandsocialmedia.Accordingtoourresearch,the
targetaudiencewasaskedwheretheyweremostlikelytohearaboutAirbnb.Basedonour
findingsforthelikelihoodofhearingaboutAirbnb,theaveragerating,onafive-pointscale,
withonebeingleastlikelyandfivebeingmostlikely,forseeinganonlineadvertisementis
3.68.Thisisthehighestaverageforallsourcesaskedabout.Inaddition,thetargetaudience
iswell-versedintheworldoftechnologybeingthatthemajorityofthemgrewupinthe
technologyage.Adultsages18-34areslightlymorelikelythantheaveragepersontobe
onlinethroughouttheday[Table5inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).The
targetaudienceis88%morelikelytouseabanneradasaleadtopurchaseveryoften
[Table6inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Similarly,thetargetaudienceis
54
108%morelikely[Table7inAppendix]touseafull-motionvideoadtoguidethem
towardsapurchase(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Therefore,onlineadvertisements
willbetheprimaryfocusofthiscampaign.Onlinemarketingwillbetheeasiestwayto
trackthetargetaudience.OverstepCommunicationscanmoveconsumersthroughafunnel
byhavingahigh,onlinepresence(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.226).
Onemediaoutletthatisveryprevalentintheworldissocialmedia,sinceitis
“today’slifeline”(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.228).Ofadultsbetween18-
34,theyare29%morelikelybeasocialmediauser[Table8inAppendix],whilealsobeing
97%morelikelytovisittheiraccountsthreeormoretimesaday[Table9inAppendix]
(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Theirprominenceonsocialmedialeadsthemtobe
86%morelikelytopurchaseaproductadvertisedonasocialsharingorsocialnetworking
site[Table10inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Utilizingsocialmediawill
enableAirbnbtodevelopabrandpreferenceandpromotestorytellingamongmembersof
thetargetaudience(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.228).Withthis,tying
aspectsofsocialmediaintothecampaignwillprovideagreatopportunitytoreachthe
targetaudienceandmakeanimpactonthem.
Surprisingly,thisagegroupisnotlikelytowatchtelevision.Atonepoint,therewas
ahighpresenceoftelevisionviewers;however,streamingserviceslikeNetflixandHuluare
nowbeingusedmorethanliveprogramming(Spangler,2015).Withthegrowing
prominenceoftechnology,televisionisfadingawayandwouldnotbeagoodoutlettofocus
on.ThetargetaudienceislesslikelythantheaverageAmericantowatchTV[Table11in
Appendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).
Korean
55
OverstepCommunicationsrecommendusingsocialmediatoreachtheKorean
targetaudience.AccordingtotheAllaboutads’column“2016SocialMediaTrendandCore
Strategy”byJayCho,DMCreportedin2015thatresearchshowedconsumersgain
informationaboutservicesorproductsfromsocialmedia”(Cho,2016,slide15-17).There
wasanincreaseof6to8%comparedto2013(Cho,2016,slide15-17).Moreover,social
mediaplaysanimportantroleinapurchasedecisionsandinbeinganidealmediaplatform
forviralmarketing(Cho,2016,slide15-17).
In2014,Korea’ssocialmedialandscapeincreasedfromareported23.5%in2012to
39.9%(Edelman,2015).Theaverageageofsocialmediausershasincreasedsignificantly
betweenpeopleages10to40,with74.4%ofpeopleintheir20susingsocialmediaand
61%ofpeopleintheir30susingsocialmedia(Edelman,2015).Furthermore,Koreahasthe
highestdigitalvideoviewerpenetrationintheworld:“95.9%ofKoreaninternetusers
watchvideosatleastonceaweek”(Edelman,2015).
Chinese
OverstepCommunicationsplantousesocialmediaandonlineadvertising.
Thereare70%ofpeopleusingsocialmediabetweentheagesof19-35and38%ofsocial
mediausersmaketheirproductpurchasedecisionsbasedonrecommendationstheyread
onsocialmedia(Jamie,2015).Theinternetisalsoaveryimportantwaytoreachthetarget
audienceinthecampaign.In2016,thereare721millioninternetusersinChina,and58%
ofthemaremillennials(InternetLiveStats,n.d;Russell,2016).
PromotionalStrategy
Forpromotions,OverstepCommunicationssuggestdoingareferralprogram.In
thissituation,recommendingfivefriendstosignupforanAirbnbmembershipwillresult
56
inacreditof$125totheAirbnbaccountofthepersonwhomadethereferral.Thiswill
provideincentivetocurrentmemberstospreadwordtotheirfriendsandfamilytosignup
forAirbnb.Withskepticismbeingamajorchallengeinpeople,hearinggoodexperiences
andreceivingrecommendationsfromtrustedfriendsandfamilymemberswillallowfor
newmemberstohaveasenseoftrustwhenbookingwithAirbnb.
57
Summary
Overall,OverstepCommunicationsunderstandwhattheproblemsand
opportunitiesassociatedwithAirbnbarewhenitcomestotheTA’smind.Thatbeingsaid,
theimplicationsthatthishascanbefixedthroughthecampaignasaforementioned.Itwill
helptoalleviatethesecomplicationsandcreateabetterawarenessandusageofAirbnb.
ThestrategysuggestedbyOverstepCommunicationsissimpleyetwell-roundedin
reachingtheintendedtargetaudience.Byrunningthiscampaign,Airbnbwillwelcome
morepeopletosignupformembership.
Theonlineandsocialmediacomponentswillpullpotentialusersinandsparktheir
interestsinwhatAirbnbhavetooffer.Inthefuture,Airbnbwillbecomemoreprominent
inconsumers’mindsandbemorelikelytomakethemloyalcustomers.Withthe
combinationoftherecommendedcampaignandPromotionalStrategies,boththe
CommunicationsandMarketingGoalswillbeachievedandAirbnbwillbecomemore
establishedinthemarketplace.Withtheirestablishment,morepeoplewillbooktravel
accommodationsthroughAirbnbandtheywillbecomemoreprevalentthanthetypical
hotelormoteloptionsthetargetaudiencecurrentlyutilizes.
58
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Appendix
SimmonsOneViewTables
Table1:Adults,Ages18-34andTheirWillingnesstoMakeTravelArrangementsThroughaCompanyTheyHaveNeverHeardof
Table2:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherTheyTravelDomesticallyintheLast12Months
71
Table3:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherTheyTravelInternationallyintheLastThreeYears
Table4:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherTheyUseHotelsandMotelsasTravelAccommodations
72
Table5:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherorNotTheyUsetheInternet
Table6:Adults,Ages18-34andHowOftenTheyUseBannerAdstoLeadtoaPurchase
73
Table7:Adults,Ages18-34andHowOftenTheyUseFull-MotionVideoAdstoLeadtoaPurchase
Table8:Adults,ages18-34WhoareSocialMediaUsers
74
Table9:Adults,Ages18-34andHowOftenTheyVisitTheirSocialMediaAccounts
Table10:Adults,Ages18-34andHowLikelyTheyareGoingtoPurchaseSomethingAdvertisedonaSocialMediaorNetworkingWebsite
75
Table11:AdultsAges18-34andTheirTelevisionHabits
76
QuestionnaireInformedConsentStatement:
Hello,mynameis_____________andIamanadvertisingstudentatPennStateUniversity
conductingresearchforaclassproject.Wearelookingattravelhabitsandpreferred
accommodationswhenyouareawayfromhome.
Thisquestionnairewilltakeaboutfivetosevenminutes.
Yournamewillnotbewrittenonthequestionnaireandallresponsesyouprovideforthis
studywillremainconfidentialwithinmyclass.
Areyou18yearsorolder?Yes[]No[]
77
TRANSITION:First,Iwouldliketoaskyouafewquestionsregardingyourtravelhabitsand
preferredaccommodations.
1. Whatisyouronefavoritesourcetousetobookyourtravelaccommodations?
(Open-Ended)
2. Whatdoyoulikeaboutthesourceyouselectedinthepreviousquestion?(Open-
Ended)
3. Whatdoyoudislikeaboutthesourceyouselected?(Open-Ended)
4. Whendoyoutravelmost?(Nominal)
a. Summer
b. Spring
c. Winter
d. Fall
5. Doyoutravelforbusiness?
a. Yes
b. No
6. Howoftendoyoutravelforbusiness?
a. _____________
7. Whatdoyouhopetogainfromyourbusinesstravels?(Open-Ended)
8. Doyoutravelforleisure?
a. Yes
b. No
9. Howoftendoyoutravelforleisure?
a. _____________
10. Whatdoyouhopetogainfromyourleisuretravels?
78
11. Doyoutraveltovisitfamily/friends?
a. Yes
b. No
12. Howoftendoyoutraveltovisitfamily/friends?
a. _____________
13. Whatdoyouhopetogainfromvisitingfamily/friends?
14. Onascalefrom1-5,with1beingleastlikelyand5beingmostlikely,howlikelyare
youtotravel:(Interval) LeastLikely MostLikely
a. Alone: 1 2 3 4 5
b. WithFamily: 1 2 3 4 5
c. WithFriends: 1 2 3 4 5
d. WithCo-workers: 1 2 3 4 5
15. Howmuchareyouwillingtospendanightforahotel?(Interval)
a. $1-50
b. $51-100
c. $101-150
d. $151-200
e. $200+
16. Whenbookingahotelroom,Iammostconcernedwith:(Interval) Low High
a. Security(Room) 1 2 3 4 5
b. Security(Area) 1 2 3 4 5
c. Cleanliness 1 2 3 4 5
d. Location 1 2 3 4 5
e. Price 1 2 3 4 5
f. SizeofRoom 1 2 3 4 5
g. Comfort 1 2 3 4 5
17. ArethereanyotherconcernsthatyoumayhavewhenbookingahotelroomthatI
havenotmentioned?(Open-Ended)
79
18. Inregardstoyourpreviousmentions,onascaleof1to5,with1beingtheleast
concernedand5beingthemostconcerned,howconcernedareyouwith____? Low High
___________________ 1 2 3 4 5
___________________ 1 2 3 4 5
___________________ 1 2 3 4 5
___________________ 1 2 3 4 5
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
TRANSITION:Now,Iwouldliketoaskyouaboutaspecifictravelaccommodation.
1. Haveyoueverusedanysharingservicesbefore,forexampleUber,Lyft,Poshmark,
Snapgood?(Nominal)
a. Yes
b. No
2. HaveyoueverheardofAirbnb?(Nominal)
a. Yes
b. No
Ifrespondentsrespond“No”tonumberone,theywillanswerthefollowingquestion.Ifthey
answer“Yes,”theywillcontinuewiththesurveywithnumberthree.
Airbnbisacommunitymarketplacethatallowspeopletofindaccommodationsfortheir
travelsaroundtheworldinmorethan34,000citiesand190countries.Airbnbhosts,which
canbeyouraveragehomeowner,openuptheirhomes.Whetherit’sanapartment,private
home,orevenasingleroomwithinahome,travelersareabletousethisserviceasan
alternativetobookingahotelroom.
1. NowthatyouareawareofAirbnb,onascaleof0-10,howlikelyareyoutousethis
serviceinthefuture?(Ratio)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Afterreviewingthisdescription,onascaleof1-5,wheredoyourateAirbnbonthe
followingqualities?(Ordinal)
80
a. Trustworthy 1 2 3 4 5
b. Convenient 1 2 3 4 5
c. Dependable 1 2 3 4 5
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. WhatarethefirstwordsthatcometomindwhenyouthinkofAirbnb?(Open-
Ended)
4. WhenyouhearAirbnb,howdoesthatmakeyoufeel?(Open-Ended)
5. ItispossiblethatAirbnbhostsarepresentduringyourstay.Forexample,ifJohn
rentshishometoyou,hecanstayinhishomeduringthedurationofyourtravel.
Areyoucomfortablewiththehostbeingpresent?(Open-Ended)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Afteransweringthesequestions,respondentswillbedirectedtothedemographicpartofthe
survey.
1. Onascalefrom1-5,with1beingleastlikelyand5beingmostlikely,howlikelyare
youtohearaboutAirbnbfrom: LeastLikely MostLikely
a. WordofMouth: 1 2 3 4 5
b. Magazine: 1 2 3 4 5
c. NewsArticle: 1 2 3 4 5
d. Commercial: 1 2 3 4 5
e. OnlineAdvertisement: 1 2 3 4 5
2. HaveyoueverusedAirbnb?(Nominal)
a. Yes
b. No
3. HaveyoubookedAirbnbinthefollowingplaces:(Nominal)
a. UnitedStates:yes[]no[]
b. NorthAmerica—excludingUS:yes[]no[]
c. SouthAmerica:yes[]no[]
d. Africa:yes[]no[]
81
e. Australia:yes[]no[]
f. Europe:yes[]no[]
g. Asia:yes[]no[]
4. Onascalefrom0-10,howlikelyareyougoingtouseAirbnbinthefuture?(Ratio)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
TRANSITION:NowthatIaskedyouaboutAirbnb,Iamgoingtoaskyouafewquestions
aboutyourselfinorderdevelopagreaterunderstandingbetweentravelinghabitsandits
consumers.
1. What’syourgender?(Nominal)
a. Male
b. Female
2. What’syourage?(Ratio)
a. _________________
3. Areyouafull-timestudentorafull-timeemployee?(Nominal)
a. Full-Timeemployee
b. Student
4. Doyouhavechildren?(Nominal)
a. Yes
b. No
ENDING:Thankyouforparticipatinginmystudy.Iappreciateyourtimeandeffort.Ifyou
haveanyquestionsorareinterestedinmystudy,pleasefeelfreetocontactmyinstructor:
Dr.SusanStrohm
Email:sms14@psu.edu
OfficePhone:814-863-0535
82
FocusGroupInformedConsentStatement:Hello,mynameis_____________andIamanadvertisingstudentatPennStateUniversity
conductingresearchforaclassproject.Wearelookingattravelhabitsandpreferred
accommodationswhenyouareawayfromhome.
Allresponsesyouprovideforthisstudywillremainconfidentialwithinmyclass.
Areyou18yearsorolder?Yes[]No[]
1. Whatmakesyouchooseavacationdestination?
2. Whatdoyoulookforinahotelroom?
3. Whatdoyouthinkarethemostimportantfactorsofahotelroom?
4. Haveyoueverusedanysharingservicesbefore(i.e.Uber,Lyft,SnapGoods,Poshmark,etc.)?
5. HaveyoueverusedAirbnbbefore?
a. Ifyes,tellusaboutyourexperience
b. Ifno,wewilltellyouaboutiti. Airbnbisacommunitymarketplacethatallowspeopletofind
accommodationsfortheirtravelsaroundtheworldinmorethan
34,000citiesand190countries.Airbnbhosts,whichcanbeyour
averagehomeowner,openuptheirhomes.Whetherit’sanapartment,
privatehome,orevenasingleroomwithinahome,travelersareable
tousethisserviceasanalternativetobookingahotelroom.
ii. WouldyoubeinterestedinusingAirbnbnow?
6. ItispossiblethatAirbnbhostsarepresentduringyourstay.Forexample,ifJohn
rentshishometoyou,hecanstayinhishomeduringthedurationofyourtravel.
Areyoucomfortablewiththehostbeingpresent?
7. DoyoutrustAirbnb’sservices?
83
a. Explainwhyorwhynot
8. WouldyouprefertopickahoteloranAirbnblistingforyourvacationstay?
a. Whatdoyouthinkaretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofeach?
9. WouldyoubewillingtosacrificethebenefitsthatcomewithahotelforamoreinexpensiveoptionlikeAirbnb?
ENDING:Thankyouforparticipatinginmystudy.Iappreciateyourtimeandeffort.Ifyou
haveanyquestionsorareinterestedinmystudy,pleasefeelfreetocontactourinstructor:
Dr.SusanStrohm
Email:sms14@psu.edu
OfficePhone:814-863-0535
84
SPSSOutputTablesOutput1:
85
Output2:
Output3:
86
Output4:
87
Output5:
88
Output6:
89
Output7:
Output8:
90
Output9:
Output10:
91
PhotosPhoto1:http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/01/dirty-pillows-the-unsolved-problems-of-sharing-services/
92
Charts:Chart1:http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tourism/2015statistics/inbound.htm
Chart2:http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1652
Chart3:http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1655
93
OstrowModel
MarketingFactorsThatAffectEffectiveFrequencyEstablishedBrands
-.2
-.1 +.1 +.2 NewBrands
HighMarketShare
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 LowMarketShare
DominantBrandinMarket
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 Smaller,LessWell-KnownBrands
HighBrandLoyalty
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 LowBrandLoyalty
LongPurchaseCycle
-.2 -.1 +.1 .2 ShortPurchaseCycle
ProductusedOccasionally
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ProductUsedDaily
+.1 +.2 NeededtoBeatCompetition
+.1 +.2 AdvertisingtoOlderConsumersorChildren
TOTAL:+.5
CopyFactorsThatAffectEffectiveFrequencySimplyCopy -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ComplexCopyCopyMore
UnusualThanCompetition
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 CopyLessUnusualThanCompetition
ContinuingCampaign
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 NewCopyCampaign
ProductSellCopy
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ImageTypeCopy
SingleKindofMessage
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 MoreDifferentKindsofMessage
ToAvoidWearout:NewMessages
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 OlderMessages
LargerAdUnits -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 SmallAdUnits TOTAL:+.6
MediaFactorsThatAffectEffectiveFrequencyLowAdClutter -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 HighAdClutterCompatibleEditorial
Environment
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 IncompatibleEnvironment
AttentivenessHigh
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 AttentivenessLow
ContinuousAdvertising
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 PulsedorFlightAdvertising
FewMediaUsed -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ManyMediaUsed
OpportunitiesforMediaRepetition
-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 FewerOpportunities
TOTAL:+03+1.1=4.1