Background:

Our team had a short runway to prove we could grow the company's footprint in Los Angeles. We faced an uphill battle, as there were existing market players with similar business strategies (e.g., vacation rental companies, and corporate rental companies). Additionally, there were proven results in other vacation rental markets by the Airbnb Host Acquisitions team.

Overall demand (guests) was outpacing supply (hosts) for both vacation and business travel. A business travel portal was planned for launch to address this demand, but the supply was not of the right professional quality. Furthermore, there was no product solution addressing property managers and the tools needed for them to operate multiple properties or corporate housing solutions. We also faced increasing government relations sensitivity in all markets.

Problem:

Our goal was to acquire new hosts and increase listings in Los Angeles by targeting short-term and long-term property management companies for immediate impact and a sustainable growth model. In order to do so, we needed to identify a way to stand out from our competitors, while also leveraging existing Airbnb users.

Solution:

To achieve this goal, we decided to target luxury rentals, property managers, and hotels in order to grow the number of hosts by 400 locations. This allowed us to lean into growing business travel demand from Airbnb users while providing a unique solution that would set us apart from our competition.

We developed a playbook that could be replicated for use in luxury rentals and hotel expansion for Airbnb in later quarters. This helped us establish relationships with key players in the industry while also increasing our presence in the market.

Impact:

400+ locations acquired within 3 months
Increased presence in key markets
Established approach for b2b vertical partnerships

Team:

Steve Gomex: Team Lead
Brent Boone: Host Acquisitions Lead
Luke Xie: Market Growth Consultant

Strategy for 400+ Location Expansion