Airbnb is launching a new global marketing campaign promoting its just-launched Airbnb Categories. The campaign features 4 of the 56 categories currently available on the site, specifically the Castles, Amazing Pools, Camping, and OMG! categories.
Airbnb has positioned Airbnb Categories as the main feature of its Summer 2022 update. The campaign is reprising the recipe that worked so well with Airbnb’s latest commercials: Each commercial is made of a series of still photographies showing happy Airbnb guests at a specific property, set to a beautifully chosen music (from Bob Dylan to Dean Martin, Carmina Burana to The Rocky Horror Picture Show). While Airbnb’s 2021 commercials felt nostalgic, their 2022 commercials are more cheerful.
The Airbnb Categories commercials need to promote the adoption of a new way to search for and navigate among listings
Airbnb released its Airbnb Categories features, on May 11, 2022. Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, promised “the biggest change to the platform in a decade” that would bring much-needed innovation to the industry as “travel search has been the same for 25 years”.
In our article How Airbnb Categories work, we explained how much effort, behind the scenes, must have been put into coordinating such as a drastic overhaul of the Airbnb’s homepage, search results, listing ranking, and overall navigation. Getting product teams from all over the company to release all these new features at the same time must have been quite a project to manage.
Now, the coordinated effort to launch Airbnb Categories is extending to marketing. A new global campaign wants to promote the new Categories. The idea is to make travelers aware of the arrival of categories in the app and on the website. Each commercial shows one listing from one category (here, Castles, Amazing Pools, Camping, and OMG!) and then makes it clear that it is only one of the many categories available in the Airbnb app (the commercial ends with showing the app and a mockup of someone browsing through other listings available in the same category).
Thus, the commercials are real product marketing, in the sense that they end with showing the product feature in situ, within the app. The goal is to drive up discovery and adoption of the Airbnb Categories feature.
Airbnb’s previous commercials for the “Made possible by hosts” campaign, were widely successful (e.g. the beacation commercial with the older couple) and featured on TV in North America, several European countries, and Australia as well as on Youtube, Instagram, and other social media channels. The Airbnb Categories commercials should also be widely distributed throughout 2022.
The spots will air on TV, streaming services (e.g. Netflix), and social channels (e.g. Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram). The campaign will also include outdoor posters in cities around the world such as Los Angeles (US), New York (US), London (UK), and Paris (France).
Time Warp | Airbnb OMG! Category
Guy and his family were looking for something a little different for their next family vacation, so they packed up their car and headed out of this world (and over to Redberth) for a UFO stay. When they landed at the site, the kids couldn’t believe their eyes. There were aliens. There were disco lights. There were smoke machines. There was so much fun to be had. After one night in outer space, Guy suspects that the kids will be talking about this trip for light years to come. This is just one of many trips that are possible with Airbnb Categories.
Text in the commercial: “Space for the kids – The OMG! category”
What is the song on the 2022 Airbnb commercial for the OMG category?
The music title is Time Warp by Little Nell, Patricia Quinn & Richard O’Brien
Where is the UFO airbnb featured in the OMG! Category commercial located?
The UFO / flying saucer is located in Redberth, United Kingdom. The real listing title for this vacation rental is “UFO ‘Futuro styled Flying Saucer’!”
How is the Airbnb UFO inside?
It can host 4 guests, has 1 bedroom with 3 beds and 0 baths.
The UFO, which is one-of-a-kind, sleeps four is located in the heart of South Pembrokeshire. Convenient to the popular seaside resorts of Tenby and Saundersfoot with their white sandy beaches and picturesque Harbours.
The spaceship consists of a double bed and two single beds, which can be used as sofas. There is a dining area, wardrobe, basic facilities including kettle and microwave. There are gas hobs and other cooking facilities on site but not in the craft. There is a monitor for gaming classic 80’s games like space invaders and defender. The hatch is remote-controlled. There is also an escape hatch in case of emergency.
What is the link to the Airbnb listing?
Here’s the link to the UFO: www.airbnb.com/rooms/20445002
Shelter From the Storm | Airbnb Camping Categories
Photographer Aysia and her partner Noah were looking for a bigger backyard to explore for the weekend. So, they headed out west with their dog, Goa, where they glamped in a serene canvas tent at the edge of Zion National Park. Each night they watched the moon rise and fell asleep to the stillness of the desert. This nature retreat is just one of many trips that are possible with Airbnb Categories.
Text in the commercial: “A wide open weekend – The Camping category”
What is the song on the 2022 Airbnb commercial for the Camping category?
The song is “Shelter From the Storm” by Bob Dylan.
Where is the tent featured in the Airbnb Camping! Category commercial located?
The tent in the Airbnb camping commercial is located in Kanab, Utah, United States (close to the Zion National Park).
What is it like to stay in the tent shown in the Airbnb camping commercial?
The actual title for the tent listing is “Glamping by Kanab! Escalante Tent at BaseCamp37°”. The tent can host 3 guests, has 1 bedroom 2 beds, and 2.5 baths.
The Escalante Tent at Basecamp 37° has a king-size bed, a futon, and a private front porch. Glampers will have plenty of privacy but remain well connected with wifi throughout the property. Vehicles park adjacent to each tent. Electricity is provided by a solar array at each tent.
Basecamp 37° has shared facilities: 2 indoor washrooms, a half bath, two indoor kitchens, an outdoor kitchen, a propane grill, BYOBar, tv’s to stay connected, and a fire pit with s’ mores fixin’s.
Located just 8 miles from Kanab, UT but far removed from the crowded parks. Our camp is at the end of the road’ with expansive views of the desert landscape.
Relax and unwind in the great outdoors!
What is the link to the Airbnb listing?
The listing can be found here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18772139
Relax-Ay-Voo | Amazing Pools | Airbnb Categories
Photographer Venetia wanted nothing more than a relaxing weekend away with the ladies she loves most – her grandmother, mother, and sisters. So, this group of women headed to the beautiful ‘Masseria Angiulli Piccolo’ villa in Puglia and spent a long weekend swimming, lounging, and catching up with each other, poolside. This is just one of many trips that are possible with Airbnb Categories.
Text in the commercial: The Amazing Pools Category
What is the song on the 2022 Airbnb commercial for the Amazing Pools category?
The song is “Relax-Ay-Voo” / “Relaxez-vous” by American crooner Dean Martin & French legend Line Renaud.
Where is the property featured in the Airbnb Amazing Pools Category commercial located?
The amazing pool is located in the area of Grottaglie, in the municipality of Salento, in the region of Puglia, in Italy.
What is it like to stay at the villa with the amazing pool shown in the Airbnb amazing pools commercial?
The actual listing title for this property is “Exclusive masseria w private pool / Salento Puglia”
The property can host up to 13 guests and has 7 bedrooms with 8.5 baths.
Masseria Angiulli Piccolo is a recently restored vineyard property from the 16th century located in the countryside of Grottaglie, Salento, Puglia. The masseria, a fortified farmhouse typical of the region, is surrounded by its 85-acre grounds of vineyards, olive groves, fig, pear and pomegranate trees. The large pool has lots of space for sunbathing overlooking the Salento hills.
This gorgeous farmhouse in the Salento region has the perfect setting of traditional, contemporary, glamorous and rustic and is the ideal destination for friends and families and accommodate comfortably 13 guests. Initially built to resist attacks by invaders, the structure is typical of Puglia, with reinforced stone and brick and authentic historic features.
Surrounded by organic almond, apricot, pear and fig trees, as well as extensive olive groves and vineyards, the property, is a vast and productive working farm that is as lovely as it is useful. There is a seasonal vegetable garden that provides the property with goodies for la cucina and two terraces for entertaining and dining al fresco. The pergola-covered terrace sits next to the large swimming pool and the large sunny courtyard provides additional space with grassy areas and lovely views, where guests can sunbathe soak up the views, savour local organic foods, or get out and explore one of Italy’s most beautiful and traditional regions.
This private retreat is ideal for a memorable vacation in sunny Puglia.
What is the link to the Airbnb listing?
The property listing can be found here: www.airbnb.com/rooms/1331258
O Fortuna | Castles | Airbnb Categories
Photographer Alex and his family were looking to get out of their city apartment for a fun summer trip before their son headed back to school. So they grabbed some family friends and traveled back in time (and over to Portugal) for a summer break—medieval style. With two young kings in a 12th Century castle, there was no shortage of fun (or drama.) This is just one of many trips that are possible with Airbnb Categories.
Text in the commercial: “Two days. Two knights. – The Castles category”.
What is the music on the 2022 Airbnb commercial for the Castles category?
The music is O Fortuna, from the opus Carmina Burana, composed by Carl Orff. It is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra & Richard Hickox.
Where is the property featured in the Airbnb Castles Category commercial located?
The actual listing title for this property is “Santa Marta de Portuzelo Castle”. It is located in Santa Marta de Portuzelo, Viana do Castelo, Portugal.
What is it like to stay at the castle shown in the Airbnb Castles category commercial?
The property can host 16 guests and has 19 bedrooms, with 19 beds and 9 baths.
The Castle is located 40 minutes from Porto airport, with a variety of cultural experiences near the city. You will love this place because of the location, the beautiful grounds and landscaping, the peaceful atmosphere and the unique construction of the house. My house is great for big families (including young children) and large groups of friends who want to disconnect in a quiet environment while having convenient access to the city center (1.2 miles).
It is a Manueline-style house that has elements from the 12th to the 19th centuries.
It is approximately 2000 m2 (approximately 21,528 sq ft), distributed over two floors and a tower. Access to the first floor is through a stone stairway that starts from a hallway, from which you access the chapel, on the right-hand side and a hall of about 50 m2 on the left.
It consists of 12 bedrooms, with 9 available to guests. The rooms are approximately 50m2 (approximately 538 sq ft), all of them have an en-suite bathroom and two of them have a fireplace. There are three living rooms, two dining rooms, a huge kitchen, toilets, large hallways, a chapel, and plenty of extra space to enjoy your leisure!
The garden expands out about 17,000 m2 (approximately 4.2 acres), with its most outstanding features: the manuelino-style watchtower, the dovecote, the 16th-century fountain and a tunnel that leads to the fountain patio giving way to the main facade of the property.
In the garden, there are a variety of ornamental trees: orange, lemon, olive, chestnut, palm, cypress, walnut, and fig.
There is an outdoor pool of approximately 17×8 m (55×26 feet) and sufficient parking.
What is the link to the Airbnb listing?
The property listing can be found here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15516440
The TV spots for Airbnb commercial 2022 campaign want to build awareness for Airbnb Categories, the main product feature launched in the 2022 Summer Release. As the change in Airbnb’s homepage and search results design is drastic, driving discovery, usage, and adoption of this new feature is crucial for Airbnb. One of the goals is also to get travelers to use Airbnb as a source of inspiration for travel, not just as a transactional platform. Airbnb is also helping its users discover destinations they would have never searched for in a regular search box. This is a big design bet by Airbnb, supported by an expensive advertising campaign.
