Airbnb on the importance of creativity, quality and having commitment

INTERVIEW: The way we travel has changed dramatically. Travellers do things far more spontaneously and are constantly looking for new challenges and authentic experiences. To deliver the goods, travel companies like AirBnb know they cannot rest on their laurels.

AirBnb, the global community driven marketplace that connects travellers looking for authentic experiences with hosts who can help, knows only too well that passionate fans are the lifeblood of the organisation. EyeforTravel’s Pamela Whitby put questions to AirBnb’s Vivek Wagle who says providing a quality service is essential. The four-year-old company understands that they will need to keep this up if they are continue on their impressive growth trajectory. Only this week the company's chief executive was reported saying that by the end of this year the company will be filling more room nights than Hilton Hotels. So on that note, let us find out what Airbnb is doing to stay ahead of the game.

EFT: In your view how is mobile, social and local changing the way consumers look, book, experience and share their travel experience?

VW: This is a huge question, so I’ll really tackle just part of it. I think the key insight is that the travel cycle, which used to nicely map to parts of a trip (Inspiration->Planning->Booking->Travelling->Sharing), has been completely compressed into a much shorter cycle that actually takes place throughout the course of a trip. No longer is inspiration limited to pre-trip discovery, or sharing to post-trip parties. Instead, at every stage of a trip a traveller might be asking for recommendations from friends and peers, booking their next accommodation, and posting photos. It's a far more flexible, efficient form of travel planning but it means that the industry needs to think carefully about touch points and where trust comes from.

EFT: So what do you see as the biggest challenges facing your business in the coming year and how are you managing these?

VW: I really think that our challenge will be to raise the bar so that every Airbnb host and guest has an amazing, memorable experience. Right now we are super proud of the diversity of experiences enabled and powered by our community. Now we just need to make sure that we keep quality high without sacrificing any of that diversity. It's a tough challenge, but the solutions are potentially exciting.

EFT: On that note, what will be the top trends in social media and marketing over the coming 12 months? What could prove to be hype?

VW: That's quite a crystal-ball question! I think we'll see a rebalancing of ‘crowdsourced’ and ‘expert’ information. Over the past few years, we believed that ‘curation’ was the cure for all ills - that is, crowdsourcing and then using some sort of authority to separate the wheat from the chaff. But now there's a curation bubble! So I think we will see a new premium being placed on beautiful, well-articulated information. And that takes time and commitment.

EFT. So where and how are you focusing you marketing efforts today?

VW: The best marketing we can do is to identify all the touch points a user can have with our company and make each touch point as magical as possible. That way, each user becomes a marketer for Airbnb.

EFT: How do you go about maximising conversions and driving loyalty in a world where there is so much choice?

VW: Quality, quality, quality. Passionate fans are the lifeblood of our organisation.

EFT: How important is delivering an ROI from your social media efforts and how do you measure and maximise this?

VW: Our social media efforts are more concerned with delivering a quality experience - whether it's customer service, advice, or just inspiration - to our users. So we don't really look for ROI as traditionally measured at this point, with the exception of customer issues resolved and positive feedback from our community. It's far more qualitative than quantitative at this point.

 

EFT:  There is a view that the threat of legal action poses a risk to AirBnB. Would you agree?

Every innovative company risks disrupting established behaviour and, sometimes, new ways of doing things create friction. However, we believe that innovation is a positive force that creates real value in our society. We have great evidence that what we do is good not only for our community, but for neighborhoods and the cities they're in. In the past few years, we've seen our platform bring value and connections to our community around the world. The ripple effect goes well beyond just people who use Airbnb. As long as communities are benefiting, local officials will recognise the value we're creating and our business will continue to grow!

EFT: What keeps you awake at night?

VW: The fear that we will get complacent and will lose our energy and our creativity as we succeed. Success can be dangerous for a lot of companies. I don't want us ever to fall into the trap of resting on our laurels.

To hear more insights from AirBnb’s Vivek Wagle join us in San Francisco for EyeforTravel’s Social Media and Mobile Strategies for Travel 2012 on March 18–19

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