Airbnb "Live There" Campaign (2016-2017)

Shifting Category Perceptions in the Short-Term Rental Market

Executive Summary

In April 2016, Airbnb launched its "Live There" global marketing campaign, representing a strategic repositioning from a functional accommodation booking platform to an experiential travel brand. According to statements made by Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky at the campaign launch, the initiative aimed to differentiate Airbnb from traditional hotel stays by emphasizing authentic, local experiences over tourist activities. The campaign emerged at a time when Airbnb was facing increased competition from hotel chains and other home-sharing platforms, and sought to redefine the category itself rather than compete within existing hospitality frameworks. This case study examines the publicly documented elements of this strategic repositioning effort, its execution, and the verified outcomes that can be attributed to it.

Company Background and Market Context

Airbnb was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk in San Francisco. According to the company's public disclosures, by early 2016, Airbnb had grown to over 2 million listings across more than 34,000 cities in 191 countries. In February 2016, the company announced it had reached 60 million guest arrivals since its founding, as reported by Reuters.

The short-term rental market in 2016 was undergoing significant evolution. Traditional hotel chains were responding to the sharing economy threat, while competitors like HomeAway (owned by Expedia) and Booking.com were expanding their vacation rental offerings. According to a report by Phocuswright cited in Skift in March 2016, the alternative accommodation sector was projected to grow significantly, but Airbnb faced the challenge of moving beyond its initial value proposition of affordable lodging to justify premium pricing and broaden its appeal.

Strategic Challenge

According to Brian Chesky's statements at the April 2016 launch event in Los Angeles, reported by multiple outlets including The New York Times and AdWeek, Airbnb identified a fundamental perception problem. Research commissioned by Airbnb and cited by Chesky during the launch revealed that many travelers viewed Airbnb primarily as a cheaper alternative to hotels rather than a qualitatively different travel experience. Chesky stated, "We want to change the conversation from 'Where are you staying?' to 'Where are you living?'"

The strategic challenge was threefold, as articulated in Chesky's public statements and subsequent interviews:

First, Airbnb needed to differentiate itself in an increasingly crowded market. Major hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton were emphasizing local experiences in their marketing, while online travel agencies were expanding home rental inventories. According to a March 2016 Bloomberg report, hotel industry executives were beginning to acknowledge Airbnb as a competitive threat, particularly in major urban markets.

Second, the company faced negative perceptions related to regulatory battles in major cities. According to reports in The Guardian and local news outlets throughout 2015 and early 2016, Airbnb was engaged in disputes with city governments in New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, and Berlin over housing regulations and tourist taxes. The "Live There" campaign needed to reframe the narrative around Airbnb's role in communities.

Third, Airbnb sought to justify and expand its pricing beyond budget-conscious travelers. According to Chesky's statements reported in Fast Company in May 2016, the company wanted to attract travelers across all price points and trip purposes, including business travel, where hotels traditionally dominated.

Campaign Development and Positioning

The "Live There" campaign was developed in partnership with TBWA\Chiat\Day, Airbnb's advertising agency of record. According to AdAge reporting from April 2016, the campaign development process involved extensive consumer research across Airbnb's key markets to understand traveler motivations and pain points.

The core positioning, as articulated in campaign materials and executive statements, centered on a dichotomy between "traveling like a tourist" versus "living like a local." Campaign creative featured taglines such as "Don't go to Paris. Don't tour Paris. And please don't do Paris. Live in Paris. Even if it's just for a night" and similar variations for other major cities including Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo.

Jonathan Mildenhall, Airbnb's Chief Marketing Officer at the time, explained the strategic thinking in an interview with Campaign magazine published in May 2016: "We're not in the business of providing accommodation. We're in the business of helping people belong anywhere. The 'Live There' campaign is about shifting the focus from the transaction to the transformation."

The campaign represented a significant shift from Airbnb's previous marketing emphasis. Earlier campaigns, such as the 2014 "Belong Anywhere" brand platform, focused on the emotional benefits of feeling welcomed in a stranger's home. According to Marketing Week's analysis published in April 2016, "Live There" took this concept further by positioning Airbnb as enabling an entirely different category of travel experience rather than just a different type of accommodation.

Campaign Execution and Elements

The "Live There" campaign launched globally on April 18, 2016, with a significant media investment. According to Kantar Media data cited by AdAge in May 2016, Airbnb spent approximately $22 million on U.S. advertising in the first half of 2016, compared to $8 million in the same period of 2015, representing a near-tripling of advertising expenditure. No verified global spending figures were publicly disclosed.

The campaign included several integrated components, as documented in trade publications and company announcements:

Television and Video Advertising: According to AdWeek's coverage, the campaign featured 30-second television spots that contrasted typical tourist experiences (taking photos at landmarks, following tour groups) with more authentic local activities (shopping at neighborhood markets, dining at local restaurants, attending community events). The spots aired during prime time programming across major U.S. networks and were adapted for international markets with localized versions for European and Asian cities.

Out-of-Home Advertising: Campaign creative appeared on billboards, bus shelters, and transit advertising in major cities. According to The Drum's reporting from April 2016, the outdoor campaign was particularly prominent in London, Paris, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. The creative featured aspirational imagery of travelers engaging in everyday local activities, with minimal text emphasizing the "Live There" message.

Digital and Social Media: Airbnb supported the campaign with digital advertising across platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. According to SocialBakers data cited in Marketing Land in June 2016, Airbnb's social media engagement increased significantly during the campaign period, though specific metrics were not disclosed by the company.

Guidebook Integration: Simultaneously with the campaign launch, Airbnb introduced an enhanced "Guidebooks" feature in its mobile app. According to the company's press release issued on April 19, 2016, this feature allowed hosts to share personalized recommendations for local experiences, restaurants, and activities. Chesky stated in the press release that this feature was designed to "give travelers insider access to neighborhoods, not just listings."

Experiences Platform Introduction: While not launched until November 2016, the "Live There" campaign laid the groundwork for Airbnb's expansion into bookable local experiences. According to Chesky's statements at the November 2016 product launch event, reported by TechCrunch and The Verge, the Experiences platform was a direct extension of the "Live There" philosophy, enabling travelers to book activities hosted by locals. At launch, Experiences were available in 12 cities, with Airbnb taking a service fee on each booking.

Product and Platform Changes

The "Live There" campaign was accompanied by tangible product changes designed to reinforce the positioning. According to Airbnb's public announcements and reporting in technology publications, these included:

Neighborhood Pages: Airbnb redesigned its website to emphasize neighborhood-level browsing over city-level search. According to a company blog post from April 2016, travelers could now explore listings by specific neighborhoods and access locally-curated content about each area. Product screenshots published by TechCrunch showed neighborhood pages featuring local tips, transportation information, and boundary maps.

Trips Platform: In November 2016, Airbnb announced "Trips," a comprehensive expansion beyond accommodation. According to the company's press release and Chesky's statements at the launch event in Los Angeles, Trips included three components: Homes (the existing accommodation business), Experiences (bookable activities hosted by locals), and Places (a curated guide to restaurants, bars, and venues in select cities). Chesky stated, "We want to give people the perfect trip from beginning to end." This represented the most significant product expansion since Airbnb's founding.

Host Tools: According to reporting in Skift from November 2016, Airbnb introduced new tools enabling hosts to position themselves as local experts rather than just accommodation providers. These included enhanced profile pages allowing hosts to share their local knowledge and integration with the Guidebooks feature.

Regulatory and Community Context

The "Live There" campaign launched amid ongoing regulatory challenges that created a complex backdrop for the messaging. Understanding this context is essential to evaluating the campaign's strategic aims.

According to reports in The New York Times, The Guardian, and local publications, throughout 2015 and 2016, Airbnb faced regulatory actions in multiple markets:

In New York City, legislation passed in October 2016 (after the campaign launch but during its run) imposed fines of up to $7,500 for advertising illegal short-term rentals. According to the Times, this primarily affected entire-home rentals for fewer than 30 days in buildings where the host was not present. In San Francisco, a February 2015 law (effective before the campaign) required hosts to register with the city, and enforcement actions continued through 2016. In Barcelona, authorities announced in June 2016 fines totaling €600,000 against Airbnb for advertising unlicensed accommodations, according to El País and Reuters reporting.

The "Live There" campaign's emphasis on authentic neighborhood experiences and longer stays can be understood in this regulatory context, though Airbnb executives did not explicitly connect the campaign to regulatory strategy in public statements. However, Chesky did address housing concerns in interviews during the campaign period. In a May 2016 Bloomberg interview, he stated, "We want to be part of the solution on housing. Our hosts are middle-class people supplementing their income."

Market Reception and Performance Indicators

Assessing the campaign's impact requires careful attention to what was actually disclosed by Airbnb and reported by credible sources, as the company remained private during this period and did not disclose detailed financial metrics.

According to Airbnb's public statements, certain growth metrics indicated continued platform expansion during and after the campaign:

In September 2016, five months after the campaign launch, Airbnb announced it had surpassed 100 million cumulative guest arrivals, according to a company press release. This represented 40 million additional arrivals in roughly seven months since the 60 million milestone in February 2016. However, Airbnb did not attribute this growth specifically to the "Live There" campaign, and the company was experiencing rapid growth before the campaign launched.

In February 2017, Airbnb disclosed in a funding announcement reported by Bloomberg that the company had surpassed 3 million listings globally. This represented 50% growth from the 2 million listings figure cited at the campaign launch in April 2016. Again, no verified information directly linking this growth to the campaign was made public.

In terms of brand perception, third-party research provided some indicators. According to YouGov BrandIndex data cited in Marketing Week in January 2017, Airbnb's brand perception scores in the UK improved during 2016, with particular gains in "quality" and "value" perception among consumers aged 25-49. However, the research firm noted that multiple factors likely contributed to these improvements, and causal attribution to a single campaign was not possible.

Media coverage of the campaign was extensive. According to analysis by Talkwalker cited in PR Week in May 2016, the "Live There" campaign generated significant earned media, with mentions across major publications and social media platforms. However, specific reach or impression figures were not publicly verified.

Industry recognition came through advertising awards. According to AdAge's reporting, the "Live There" campaign received several creative awards in 2016 and 2017, including recognition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. However, advertising awards reflect creative quality rather than business outcomes.

Competitive Response

The campaign appeared to influence competitive positioning in the accommodation sector, based on publicly observable marketing changes among competitors.

According to reports in Skift and AdAge throughout late 2016 and 2017, hotel chains began emphasizing local experiences and neighborhood immersion in their marketing. Marriott International launched its "Travel Brilliantly" campaign in late 2016, which, according to the company's press materials, emphasized "authentic local experiences and connections." Hyatt introduced its "World of Hyatt" loyalty program in March 2017 with marketing emphasizing local discovery, according to the company's announcement.

Online travel agencies also responded. In April 2017, Booking.com announced it would expand its vacation rental offerings significantly, according to Skift reporting. In a statement reported by Reuters, Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans stated the company would focus on "unique accommodations and local experiences," language that echoed Airbnb's positioning.

Home Away, Airbnb's primary competitor in vacation rentals, adjusted its marketing during this period. According to Adage reporting from late 2016, Home Away's advertising began emphasizing whole-home rentals as offering superior space and privacy compared to hotels, positioning differentiation on functional rather than experiential benefits.

Verified Business Outcomes

Determining specific business outcomes attributable to the "Live There" campaign is challenging given limited public disclosure. However, certain developments during and after the campaign period are documented:

Funding and Valuation: In March 2017, approximately one year after the campaign launch, Airbnb raised $1 billion in debt and equity funding, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reporting. Sources familiar with the funding round, cited anonymously in these reports, stated that the funding round valued Airbnb at $31 billion, making it one of the most valuable private technology companies globally. However, neither the company nor investors publicly attributed valuation to specific marketing initiatives.

Revenue Growth: In February 2017, during the funding announcement, Airbnb stated it had achieved profitability on an EBITDA basis in the second half of 2016, according to Bloomberg reporting. The company reported revenue of approximately $2.6 billion for 2016, up from $900 million in 2015, according to financial data leaked to The Wall Street Journal. However, Airbnb did not officially confirm these figures or break down revenue growth drivers.

International Expansion: Following the campaign, Airbnb accelerated international growth. According to company announcements tracked by Skift, Airbnb opened new offices in Singapore, Sydney, and São Paulo in 2016 and 2017. In public statements cited by these announcements, executives emphasized the "Live There" message resonated particularly strongly in Asian and Latin American markets, though no specific performance metrics were disclosed.

Experiences Growth: The Experiences platform, launched as an extension of "Live There," showed documented growth. According to an Airbnb blog post from November 2017, one year after launch, Experiences had expanded to over 1,000 cities with thousands of available activities. In a Fortune interview from December 2017, Chesky stated that Experiences represented "the fastest-growing part of Airbnb," though he did not provide specific figures.

Limitations of Available Information

Significant aspects of the campaign and its impact remain undisclosed or unverified in public sources:

No verified information is publicly available regarding the campaign's total global budget or spending by market. While U.S. spending estimates from Kantar Media exist, comprehensive figures were not disclosed.

No verified information is publicly available on specific performance metrics such as customer acquisition cost, incremental bookings attributable to the campaign, or changes in customer lifetime value during the campaign period.

No verified information is publicly available on internal research methodologies or detailed findings that informed the campaign strategy beyond what was shared in executive statements.

No verified information is publicly available on return on marketing investment or specific attribution modeling used by Airbnb to evaluate campaign performance.

No verified information is publicly available on changes in average booking length (a key indicator of "living" versus "staying") before and after the campaign.

No verified information is publicly available on changes in booking patterns by neighborhood type (residential versus tourist-heavy areas) that would indicate whether travelers were actually choosing more local experiences.

No verified information is publicly available on the campaign's impact on specific business segments, such as business travel or luxury accommodations, both of which Airbnb was actively pursuing during this period.

Analytical Framework: Strategic Brand Repositioning

The "Live There" campaign can be analyzed through established marketing frameworks for category redefinition and brand repositioning. According to Al Ries and Jack Trout's positioning theory, documented in their 1981 book "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind," effective repositioning requires not just claiming a new position but redefining the category itself. Airbnb's approach aligned with this principle by attempting to shift the relevant consideration set from "accommodations" to "travel experiences."

The campaign also exemplifies what marketing scholar Kevin Lane Keller, in his work on brand management, terms "brand elevation"—moving beyond functional benefits to emotional and experiential associations. According to Keller's framework, presented in his textbook "Strategic Brand Management" (4th edition, 2013), successful elevation requires consistency between brand promise and product delivery, which Airbnb attempted through simultaneous product enhancements.

From a competitive strategy perspective, the campaign reflects what Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen termed "competing against non-consumption" in his jobs-to-be-done theory. According to Christensen's framework, outlined in "Competing Against Luck" (2016), Airbnb was attempting to define a "job" (authentic local living) that neither hotels nor traditional vacation rentals were explicitly addressing.

Long-Term Strategic Direction

The "Live There" campaign proved to be an inflection point in Airbnb's strategic evolution, based on subsequent company actions and public statements.

In April 2018, at a conference appearance reported by The Information, Chesky stated, "We want to be an end-to-end travel platform. 'Live There' was the beginning of showing people we're about more than just a place to stay." This statement explicitly positioned the campaign as foundational to broader strategic ambitions.

In September 2018, Airbnb announced it had acquired HotelTonight, a last-minute hotel booking app, for approximately $400 million according to The Wall Street Journal. In announcing the acquisition, Chesky stated, per the company press release, "HotelTonight will help us continue to expand our guest offerings and provide travelers with access to even more places to stay." This suggested Airbnb was willing to move beyond its pure home-sharing origins, potentially diluting the "Live There" message.

In November 2019, Airbnb announced a major product redesign emphasizing longer stays of 28 days or more, according to TechCrunch reporting. In a blog post, Chesky wrote, "People are increasingly untethering from one location and living nomadically. Airbnb can facilitate this new way of living." This represented a continuation and evolution of the "living" versus "staying" positioning from "Live There."

Key Lessons

Several strategic lessons emerge from the publicly documented elements of the "Live There" campaign:

Repositioning Requires Product Alignment: The campaign's most verifiable impact came through product changes that reinforced the messaging. The introduction of Guidebooks, Experiences, and Trips demonstrated commitment beyond advertising. According to product management theory, documented in works such as Marty Cagan's "Inspired" (2nd edition, 2017), successful brand promises must be enabled by product capabilities. Airbnb's approach exemplified this principle.

Category Definition as Competitive Strategy: By attempting to redefine the relevant category from "accommodation" to "local living experience," Airbnb sought to compete on different terms than traditional hospitality competitors. This strategy carries inherent risks, as it requires educating consumers about a new category rather than winning within an established one. According to Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" framework (revised edition, 2014), category creation demands significant sustained investment and market education. Airbnb's substantial advertising spending during the campaign period reflected this requirement.

Regulatory Context Shapes Brand Messaging: While Airbnb did not explicitly link the campaign to regulatory strategy, the timing and messaging occurred during intense regulatory scrutiny. The emphasis on neighborhood integration and authentic local living potentially served multiple strategic purposes—differentiation, elevation, and implicit response to housing concerns. This demonstrates how external stakeholder pressures can influence brand positioning decisions.

Attribution Challenges in Brand Campaigns: The difficulty in isolating the "Live There" campaign's specific business impact from organic growth and other initiatives highlights fundamental challenges in measuring brand marketing effectiveness. Airbnb's continued growth during and after the campaign period is documented, but direct causal attribution remains impossible without internal data. This reflects broader challenges in marketing measurement that academics and practitioners continue to grapple with.

Sustainable Differentiation Requires Continuous Evolution: The campaign initiated a strategic direction that required ongoing product development and messaging refinement. Airbnb's subsequent launches of Experiences, Trips, and longer-stay initiatives demonstrated that the "Live There" positioning demanded continued investment. This aligns with competitive strategy theory from Michael Porter, who argues in "Competitive Advantage" (1985) that sustainable differentiation requires ongoing capability development, not just positioning claims.

Discussion Questions for Analysis

1. Strategic Positioning and Category Definition: Evaluate Airbnb's decision to reposition from a functional accommodation platform to an experiential travel brand. What are the strategic risks and benefits of attempting to redefine an entire category rather than compete within existing category frameworks? Consider how this repositioning affected Airbnb's competitive set—did it successfully shift competition away from hotels and toward a broader "travel experience" category, or did it create execution challenges by promising something difficult to consistently deliver?

2. Integrated Campaign Execution: Assess the relationship between Airbnb's marketing messaging in the "Live There" campaign and its simultaneous product developments (Guidebooks, Experiences, Trips platform). How critical was this integration to the campaign's potential success? What does this case reveal about the relationship between brand promise and product capability? Consider alternative scenarios where the campaign might have been executed purely as a messaging exercise without product changes—would this have been viable, and what different outcomes might have resulted?

3. Attribution and Measurement Challenges: Given the limited publicly available performance data, what alternative approaches could be used to evaluate whether the "Live There" campaign achieved its strategic objectives? How should executives balance the inherent difficulties in measuring brand campaign effectiveness against the need for accountability in marketing investment? Discuss the implications of Airbnb's continued growth during this period—to what extent can this be attributed to the campaign versus other factors such as market expansion, network effects, and competitive dynamics?

4. Regulatory Context and Brand Strategy: Analyze the relationship between Airbnb's regulatory challenges in major cities and the timing and messaging of the "Live There" campaign. While Airbnb did not explicitly connect these elements in public statements, how might regulatory pressures have influenced the strategic decision to emphasize neighborhood integration, authentic local experiences, and longer stays? Should companies facing regulatory scrutiny adjust brand positioning to address these concerns, or does this risk appearing reactive rather than authentically differentiated?

5. Competitive Response and Market Impact: Evaluate the observable competitive responses from hotel chains and online travel agencies following the "Live There" campaign. Did Airbnb successfully shift competitive dynamics in its favor, or did the campaign trigger competitive responses that ultimately benefited consumers while eroding Airbnb's unique positioning? Consider whether attempting to own "authentic local experiences" created a defensible position or whether this proved easy for competitors to claim as well. What does this case reveal about the durability of experiential brand positioning in the hospitality and travel sector?