Killing crazy, from the sharing economy to the sense of co creation, Airbnb s god level breakthrough

Kunpeng Project

In the previous article "The Case of Co-Creation: Step by Step Airbnb (1): Killing the Dawn in "Pseudo-Sharing", we learned about Airbnb's creativity from 2008 to 2014, from its emergence to rapid expansion.

In 2014, Airbnb, WeWork, and Uber shared all had a different but similar crisis:

Core crisis: loss of original intention. After exponential growth, Airbnb is less and less like a "room", but has become a franchise business of the chain, a plaything of capital.

Crisis 2: Profit. In the early days, the tenants were sofa customers who pursued cheap**. In other words, there is only one type at this time, that is, cheap idle rooms, so it cannot meet the needs of a wider customer base, and it is difficult to achieve real profitability.

Crisis 3: Regulation. When the volume is still small, it is not concerned by the mainstream, and even gets the support of the local **. But when Airbnb-led short-term rentals grew into an industry that employed millions of people and profited from it, it was rightfully regulated and taxed.

In the face of the crisis, the three giants showed their magic and ushered in different endings. The three founders of Airbnb follow their inner "truth, goodness and beauty" and choose to return to their original intentions, find their true nature, refresh their ideas, create an ecosystem together, and welcome the digital era with a new attitude!

This section is 8000 words and consists of four parts:

1. Find the original intention x nature - cohesion community and sense of belonging!

2. Create three new experiences - reshape homestays, travel and life.

3. Play three types of super participants - co-creation germination, ecological emergence.

4. Summary: meticulous and surprising.

3. The key to Airbnb co-creation: original intention, sense of belonging, and co-creation ecosystem

If Microsoft disappears, we have to be clear about what the world will lose. What we have to answer is: what does this company do?Why do we exist?I told them it was time to rediscover our souls, that is, what makes us unique.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella "Refreshed".

Airbnb will no longer be about where you stay, but what you're doing when you're thereYou do it with 'whom'；Travel is not just about lodging, it's about interacting with the local culture and people. (2012).

OnlyThe landlord succeeded, our company will be successful.

We will use curiosity and imagination to createNon-traditional solutions

When he comes, he is a guest, and he is a stranger;When you go, you are friends, and you are no longer strangers. (2020 Letter to Shareholders).

In 2014, a new Airbnb logo and concept were born!

The new logo is:bélo+communityof fusion. It represents people + places + love + software (Airbnb).

Solgan changed from tr**el like a humanbelong anywhereI want to convey that I look for it in the change of locationA sense of belonging。Expectations make people feel like home, no matter where you go in the world.

The logo is still oneSoft inverted hearts, expressing that Airbnb is not trying to win the sincere admiration of the communityRather, I want everyone to reintegrate and recreate.

Belonging is a new concept that Airbnb has focused on in this revamp.

People can find new teas they want to taste in villages that are not on a map through this sign;The sign allows you to find places frequented by locals: cafes that don't need menus at all, cabarets tucked away in long alleys, art galleries that never appear in tourist guides, etcPeople can have new experiences, contact new cultures, and start new conversations through this sign.

Airbnb's goal is to make people feel a sense of belonging in a different place, not just to promote community, internationalization, or convenience, it's all about helping people feel like they belong!

chesky

The rapid iteration of the Internet urgently requires sharing platforms to find itIn addition to products and servicesYesTrustYour reasonsAnd it is confirmed in a new emotional connection and companionship :

Our community is based on:Connection and belonging

OursCreativityEnabling us to imagine new possibilities for people.

Our responsibility is to all stakeholdersLiability

In the end, they all have one thing in common, a fundamental belief:People are kind, and we are all in this together.

Connection and goodwill are generated in every bit of watering, the sense of belonging runs through every interaction between people, home in all directions is no longer a slogan, and the meaning of successive openings is in a new form, which really affects the person who looks at each other.

At this point, we must say that Airbnb has a philosophy and culture that goes far beyond Uber and WeWork.

Since then, Airbnb's core gravity has shifted from cost-effectiveness and convenience, which is transformed into an experience and atmosphere created by community users, an emotional value called belong anywhere.

Think about it again, when you see a certain story of Airbnb, the host is the local friend you will meet during your trip, and the most attractive thing about a place is getting along with the locals, whether it pokes at the small ambition of "you and me" to integrate into the local society, and the small emotions of longing for interpersonal communication.

*From the official website of AirbnbUnique 2. New kinetic energy - growth and progress.

The platform model was very easy to succeed in the early days of the Internet with poor information, from the e-commerce trio (Amazon Ali **) to the sharing triumvirate (Airbnb Uber Wework), countless legends were born.

When it comes to the mobile Internet, it is difficult for the new platform to make a difference without taking out some hard goods and creating some new value.

Amazon is unique as a Prime member, Jingdong is revitalized with logistics, Pinduoduo is cheaper to die, Xiaomi has innovated the ecology, and Station B and Douyin Kuaishou give ordinary people a chanceThis is Platform Mode 30 - Let your collaborators, because of this platform, substantially improve their capabilities, status and security, and even be able to continuously evolve into new species.

Airbnb has a clearer understanding – helping its partnersGrowth and progress,and reach out to include communities, local people, and places**.

Airbnb will only succeed if the host succeeds.

Hosts will only succeed if they have a great experience for their guests.

Guests only have a great experience when they feel the warmth of the community.

Only when the local residents benefit from the tourists will the community welcome guests and hosts with greater enthusiasm.

In this sense, but in just a few years, the sharing economy has been reinvented by Airbnb.

Unique 3, go **?From platforms to community-led superbrands !

Eventually, Airbnb found its new purpose:From platforms to community-led superbrands !

Hear from Mildenhall, former chief marketing officer of Airbnb:

The whole world is known for super brands such as Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Disney;Community-led brands, such as football clubs, are known, but they don't have the idol status of superbrands.

What we're trying to do is, in a way that has never been done before, putCommunity-led and superbranding are two things combinedLet the Airbnb brand in addition to having veryHigh recognizabilityIn addition, there is a wide range of themBrand understanding

The good stories and sensitivities of the people in the community put us under pressure. Until now, we didn't know how to use technology to help us tell good stories and inspire more people in our community to tell their own stories.

We explore the creation of more moving storiesThe desire to make users feel like they're experiencing someone else's life and not being marketed a brand.

Community-led superbrands have evolved from the shackles of homestays and travel, platforms and sharing to a way of life that is uplifting, affluent and warm.

community, growth and progress, community-led superbrandThese three are the coolest things about Airbnb, and that's why it's raison d'être and what it means.

Similarly, Nadella was given a new lease of life to Microsoft after helping it find its meaning to exist.

After finding the original intention to aggregate uniquely, Airbnb began to break through the ceiling of the so-called "sharing economy", making a steady stream of surprises "everyday".

The third global "Host Conference" conference in 2016 was announcedIn 2016, a new Airbnb experience is here!

"We want to 'create magic'. Our original intention is to make travel special not the destination itself, but the experience people get at the destination, even if it is a warm and relaxing afternoon by the river with family and friends, it is more meaningful than crowding in the most busy "tourist attractions". ——chesky

To put it bluntly, new experiences are the core business of Airbnb's ecological transformation from a homestay travel platform to a lifestyle platform, and from a platform model to a community-led super brand.

Airbnb New Experiences innovation revolves around three key elements: personality, humanity, and surprise.

Clause.

1. Products: From selling overnight to selling personalized experience.

In the early days, Airbnb only offered cheap rooms for backpackers;Then, the localized, personalized, and designed room types stand out.

And now?In addition to cheap B&Bs, standardized guesthouses and high-end hotels, Airbnb's design senseSeparate into the fourth category of accommodation:Unique**- A homestay experience with unique design and local flair.

From rustic homes to urban avant-garde design apartments, from treehouses, houseboats, yachts to castles, each B&B has its own unique appeal.

*From the Airbnb websiteFor example, you can book a castle in Provence, France, and get a feel for the life of the French aristocracyYou can also book an artist studio in New York, USA, to experience the work of New York artistsYou can also book a Japanese-style guesthouse in Kyoto, Japan, and experience traditional Japanese culture.

Based on uniqueness, personalization on Airbnb has grown by 31% in two years, defining uniqueness in more than 60 categories and more than 4 million units.

*From the official website of AirbnbClause.

2. Services: From comfortable & safe accommodation to "proposal for local cultural experience".

Back in 2012, Airbnb began exploring local cultural experiences: encouraging hosts to offer everything from food tours to craft classes.

After the large-scale experience was officially launched in 2016, it quickly expanded from 500 experience stores in 12 cities including Los Angeles, Miami, London, Cape Town and Tokyo to the rest of the world. As of 2021, there are over 75,000 experiences available on the Airbnb platform. (more on this later).

Clause.

3. Travel: From purposeful travel to surprise experience.

New consumption brings unprecedented imaginative experiences. In order to cater to the new generation of consumer power or the new aesthetic of Gen Z, Airbnb interactive and immersive experiences have emerged, updated and continuous at any time.

In 2019, Airbnb was launched「only on airbnb」。Living in Barbie's Dream House, returning to Hobbiton in "The Lord of the Rings", staying at Dracula's Castle on Halloween, spending the night at Downton Abbey, playing "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Paris Opera, etc., it is even more appropriate to become a phenomenon among young people.

*From Airbnb's official websiteIn addition, Airbnb emphasizes sustainable tourism and encourages eco-friendly experiences. For example, various nature adventures, social responsibility, social welfare experiences, etc., travelers not only get different experiences, but also become long-term donors, volunteers and ambassadors for certain public welfare causes.

In 2022, Airbnb launched"omg!Strange House**"Plan. These unique experiences with emotional anchors penetrate travel and meet complex needsNot only is it a place to live with a character, a story and a temperature, but alsoA unique experience.

*From Airbnb's official website, there is no denying uniqueness, humanity, and surprise, in "Harnessing curiosity and imagination to create unconventional solutions."Airbnb is living the way it wants it to be.

At this point, would you still say that Airbnb is the same sharing economy as Uber and Didi?

If the Airbnb experience is understood as a differentiated product, then there are three categories in the new ecosystemSuper Player: Experience hosts, veteran hosts, and loyal users are at the heart of their strategyThis also gave birth to the exclusive Airbnb co-creation gameplay.

1) Find a new super participant: Experiences Host!

There are over 75,000 experiences available on the Airbnb platform, and these experiences come from **?It's simply not possible to rely on platform operations and landlords alone.

They found a new super player: the Experiences Host, or more so the Host.

*The most critical factor in the whole thing from the Airbnb official website isCurators who provide a special kind of accessThese people can not only induce people's continued interest and progression in dazzling experiences, but also become a new form of travel and lifestyle.

In London, for example, a designer with 20 years of experience will take fashion lovers on a tour of local vintage stores and boutiquesIn Tokyo, people can choose to spend $322 to explore the sushi-making process with a sushi "expert" who has been around for more than 30 years.

"We want the 'talent' to be able to provide some kind of special resource. This kind of resource is something that the people you meet on the road can't provide, and it could be the knowledge and skills of a certain person in a certain field. ”

Yume, Airbnb's senior manager (responsible for mobilizing with host "experience" providers around the world).

For example, experience host Seth, a full-time producer at a reality TV production company in Los Angeles, offers travelers "The New Reality" experience: three days exploring food, beaches, and the stories behind the production of a reality show.

*From the Internet on the official website of Airbnb, you can see that in a week, there are 2000+ experiences in the United States, 2000+ in Southeast Asia, and 560+ experiences in Japan waiting to participate.

*From the Internet Experience Host by sharing expertise or hobbiesCreate unique experiencesThey are supported by Airbnb, and their continued creativity and inspiration are key to the diversity and sustainability of the Airbnb Experience.

2) Reconstruct the new ecology of landlord participation - leading growth.

As mentioned earlier, Platform 30 neededNew kinetic energyLet your collaborators substantially improve their capabilities, status, and security because of this platform, and even be able to continuously evolve into new species.

How do you get landlords to follow their lead and keep up with the times?Airbnb jumped out of the first phase of "meticulous" empowerment: beauty, cleaning, insurance, etc., willLeading the wayThe essence of the interpretation is vividly described.

Growth 1: Helps grow.

A mature and strong community can provide opportunities for members to:SocietySucceed in a certain way.

Create a Host-only community and community. Airbnb believes that the main reason for building a community is to help owners make new connections with other hosts, discuss issues within the community, share information about local policies, etc., and give everyone a place to go.

Experienced Hosts help new Hosts grow. Set up a Superhost Ambassador to provide new Hosts with one-on-one guidance and tools to help them get started.

Mobilize "social terrorist" landlords to make them "better". Airbnb has come up with ideas and devices to get some hosts who want to "lie down and win" to get involved. For example, you can choose "hot amenities" (pools, hot tubs, fireplaces, etc.);You can also add "eye-popping amenities" (barbecue grills, campfires, pianos, etc.) to add the appeal, and Airbnb will do the rest.

In addition, through regular surveys, we collect the increase and decrease of the landlord's sense of belonging, and the changes brought about by the community, so as to continuously improve and innovate.

Growth 2: Get caught up in the inner circles that are connected to each other.

It should be noted that this is not a hierarchical layer, but a "mandala" circle that progresses from the outside to the inside.

Outer Ring: Regular landlord.

Inner Circle: Senior landlord.

Center Circle 1: Superhosts and Superhost Ambassadors. Or start your own community or help new hosts join and earn new income.

Central Circle 2: Partners (community organizers, senior managers, etc.). Airbnb has found a number of deeply engaged "veteran hosts" around the world to become senior managers. For example, Yume in Japan, in addition to maintaining communication with the Japanese office, is also one of the more than 20 "community organizers" of Airbnb in Tokyo, responsible for lobbying for ** and fighting for "legalization" rights.

Inner circle: Host Advisory Council (23 seats). They represent the Host community and participate in decision-making. They are "Community Leaders, Superhost Ambassadors, Community Center members, or other active participants in Airbnb's community programs."They are passionate about hosting, have made important contributions to the Airbnb community, and have a significant say in our progress together. (official website language)".

*The essence of the "Mandala" circle on Airbnb's official website is that not every host is looking to enter the inner circle, and staying in their preferred circle can create a better sense of belonging than the "pushing" hierarchy.

Growth 3: Festival + Offline Ceremony = Leading Growth.

The act in the ritual carries a deep meaning, connecting the present moment with what happened in the past and our hopes for the future. - The Art of Community Operation

The essence of Airbnb Open is the same as the annual Apple Developer Conference, Google Developer Conference, Xiaomi's Rice Noodles Festival, and NIO's NIO DayExpressed in a particular cultureStrengthen cultural influence and leadership;toFlowable and memorable emotional expressionsStrengthen the sense of belonging;PassedExpect a "check-in" mechanism, scarcity at a specific point in time to complete the community and community pride.

Airbnb entered China in 2017 and has held several host conferences, but unfortunately withdrew from China in 2022.

*From the airbnb official website, Hosts participate in a small step, a sense of co-creation A big step, a host-based circle of circles, and a growing ecosystem of participation is gradually completed.

3) Play through the user's new social network - a sense of community with a story and a sense of scheming participation.

Airbnb's goal is to become a community-led superbrand, and the way users engage and co-create is naturally different from other shared hotel platforms in the past.

User Engagement 1 – New Sharing, Every Story Worth a Thousand Dollars.

The new people-centric ability to share makes brands equal to stories, cultures, feelings and lifestyles.

With over 500 million ratings, reviews, experiences, and guest recommendations and 2 million most popular word-of-mouth reviews, Airbnb focuses on:Guide and encourage users to share their travelsstories

What is it?stories

Stories are not linear travel diaries like travelogues, nor are they structured and highly integrated dry goods like guidesRatherAdvocate a kind of life record anytime and anywhere, and share the experience freely。A story may have only one person, a small shop, a street, and one insight. Fragments have emotions.

At the same time, Airbnb is also "planting" stories across the web, telling interesting, touching and inspiring stories between hosts and guests, expressing how they have helped them achieve their travel dreams and life goals.

When every journey is transformed into a vivid onestoriesIt not only attracts the user's attention and connects emotions, but more importantly, strengthens the identity and trust of the brand.

*From the official website of Airbnb, it must be recognized that there are two differences in Airbnb stories:

First, using stories to guide the community is the evolution of user participation from digital to scenario-based, from picture experience to emotional experience. At this time, the scene is no longer the likes, comments, and pictures in the Internet eraInstead, it will become the power engine of the super community brand with a clearer business model.

Second, Airbnb's story is almost entirely fictional, and is based entirely on the creator's real house, real events, and real voicesTrueis the key!

User Engagement 2 - Social Networking with "Reversal".

Airbnb has a class of hosts that, albeit a minority, run with care. Every corner of the home has its meaning, in a space to show his philosophy of life. Taste and thought. Then his purpose is to meet those who "smell like".

At this time, the guest needs to "chemistry" to book, depending on which house needs to write a private message to the landlord to apply, and the landlord also has the right to choose whether to agree to your stay.

One traveler (skaeymin) said why would he like it?- I have stayed in a university teacher's room, an antique collector's home, a designer's villa, a student's apartment, a retired couple's loft, a canal houseboat, and so on. Interesting and special hosts are the biggest attraction to my stay, and I always want to see the lives of people in different industries than I am, and it would be nice to have a conversation or two. ”

* Kong Zhiqiu, head of Airbnb China from the Skaeymin blog, believes that "everyone is not alone, what you like, there is another person in a corner of the world who likes, Airbnb** also carries such attributes, maybe one day you will find it,I should live in a house like this, and living in a house like this is the right one for meIn an unexpected second, resonate with the people and the world around you. ”

Such guests and hosts are the protagonists, benchmarks, and influencers of the Airbnb story.

User Engagement 3 – Local Experience with Engagement.

Let's talk about the gravitational pull of Airbnb Local Experiences from the user's point of view, allowing every traveler to live like a local, observe the world through the experience, and experience different cultures and lives in a limited trip.

User Engagement 4 – On the appInvolvementofBe careful

Allow me to quote "How to do Airbnb's user growth|."Attached is the content of the AARRR Model Analysis article.

Take the design of the content recommendation system, scenic spot favorites, schedules, and daily functions in user retention as an example

From the attractions seen in the thematic content, after double-clicking [Equivalent to Red Heart Collection, equivalent to Want to Go], it will be automatically added to the attraction favorites, and you can also press and hold [Equivalent to Must Go].

After the user has finished reading the topic they are interested in and has a few favorites, they will jump to the homepage of the collection page.

All the favorites are displayed on the map with a heart mark.

Even if you haven't started to book yet, you can feel a sense of accomplishment and look forward to your future travels when you look at the filled schedule.

*From How to do Airbnb's user growth |Attached AARRR Model Analysis".Be carefulEach process is to promote users to gamify the whole process from interest to stimulation, from retention to activity, from experience to recommendation.

Airbnb User Engagement is still being updated, and so are its aspirationsCreate different accommodations and experiences for users, upgrade to the possibility of sharing a variety of lives, build a field of fresh friends, and empathize with a like-minded emotion.

At this point, I hope you understand that the previous generation of the sharing economy has been replaced by a new ecology with a sense of participation and co-creation. Although it has just begun, the change is profound and still fermenting!

From 2008 to 2014, Airbnb went from up-and-coming to high-speed expansion, and its meticulous and surprising values were:Platform empowerment and co-building trust.

Then 2014 to 2018Elaborate and surprise very different :

Elaborate 1, original intention, kinetic energy and new mode:

Super symbolic and meaningful:A blend of pink + love + community.

Found the "soul":Create a sense of belonging for your partners.

New positioning:A community based on connection and belonging!

Redefining Travel:Personalized experience, proposal for local cultural experience, and surprise experience.

New Mode:From the platform sharing mode toCommunity-led co-creation ecosystem.

2. Create an ecology together: experience host + senior landlord + loyal guest.

Find new super playersHosts: Create unique experiences together.

Reimagining the Host Engagement New Ecosystem:Growth and a sense of belonging.

Play through the user's new social network:Story + anti-social + local life + gamification.

Airbnb has found new support with new gameplay, expanded new experiences with new scenarios, and more importantly, the emergence of group wisdom brought by new co-creators, and comprehensive connection and belonging brought by in-depth participants, these new rhythms and new rhythms have become the past four yearsof high growth.

*From the 2020 Airbnb ProspectusIn 2019, Airbnb has a new challenge.

First, the pandemic hit the tourism industry hard, and then during the crisis, a number of senior executives, including former Amazon veteran Greg Greeley, left their jobs. As founder Brian Chesky put it:"We are staring into the abyss. ”

At this time,The "original heart" helped them overcome everything.

At the end of the summer of 2020, Chesky made a bet with himself:In the face of disaster, a sense of belonging is what people want most. He refilled the ** required for listing, emphasizing his own experience of renting out an air bed.

And attached is a letter from the founder, which reads:When he comes, he is a guest, and he is a stranger;When you go, you are friends, and you are no longer strangers. ”

And because of this, Airbnb has opened the next great cycle.

To be continued

Airbnb, which has long been seen as a threat to the hospitality industry, has more ambitions than that."

How to do Airbnb's user growth |Attached AARRR Model Analysis".

Gathering and dispersing sometimes, sometimes say goodbye to Airbnb".

Airbnb's Letter to Shareholders