Market Segmentation of Airbnb

Do you like traveling? Awesome! But adventurous traveling is not everybody’s thing. A lot of people prefer to plan their trips ahead. They think of the places they are going to visit, the food they are going to eat, and the area they will stay at. Don’t get me wrong; hotels are great, comfortable, and convenient. But when they say, “Feel yourself at home.”, it is for a reason. An American company that was founded only in 2008 has thought of everything you need. Rent a home through an app, and enjoy your stay during vacation. Today we are going to talk about Airbnb.

To begin with, we are going to discuss the segmentation strategy of Airbnb.

This video shows a pure representation of a woman having the time of her life on a break. Her choice of Airbnb is a wooden cabin. The cabin is absolutely gorgeous, comfortable, and it looks like its location is somewhere peaceful.

In the backyard of the house, there is a barbeque area surrounded by comfy armchairs and a small table and chairs. And the view opens to the capture-worthy greenery.

Inside the house, the wood vibe still remains. The rooms are mostly decorated with wood pieces. The style looks pretty minimalistic, with a few pictures hanging on the wall, some plants, etc. The woman spends some of her time in her bedroom journaling. The latter, by the way, is a healthy habit that people should take upon.

There is also a hot tub outside the house. The perfect place to be for a wind-down. Of course, the moment would not be complete without a bottle of wine.

You know it is the perfect start to your morning if you have a cup of coffee. She enjoys her coffee on a bright morning with that absolutely stunning view.

Depending on your taste, style, and preference for comfort, you can find a place that you desire on Airbnb.

What does this video tell us exactly?

The most obvious hint is the idea of vacation. The presumable segment that Airbnb targets enjoy a time away from home. Of course, at the end of the day, they have to go back. But being away and doing what they enjoy is one of their best leisure time activities.

The second hint is the sense of nature. Without pointing it out, it is already obvious that this woman truly enjoys being surrounded by clean, fresh air.

With that being said, the segment that Airbnb has chosen to target is Conscious Progressives.

What do we know about this segment?

Lifestyle and values:

Conscious Progressives are highly smart individuals. They always look for new information to soak up like a sponge, and you will always learn from them. Some people from this segment enjoy gaining information about various cultures.

This segment approaches life practically. An aspect where it is very evident is their finances. Progressives will not spend their money unless they truly need to.

Being attractive is one of the focuses of Progressives. However, attraction is not limited to how they look and dress. They also deeply appreciate their personality and always work on its improvement.

This segment has a lot of friends. It is pretty safe to say that all of them are genuine friends that Progressives can rely on. They spend their quality time with friends in all kinds of circumstances. It can be at a restaurant, a club, or at home. The place does not matter as much as the company.

Most of the people in this segment are either studying or working. As we already said, Progressives enjoy learning new things all the time. This is what keeps them confident.

Like many other people, Progressives wish to pursue a great career. However, they are not willing to make sacrifices just because the position sounds promising.

Progressives love to contribute to their workplace. They like to be a part of something greater than themselves. And this is where they usually showcase their success.

This segment is opinionated. If they believe that something is a certain way, they stick to it. That is because they have done their research, and they will get into a healthy debate with anyone of the opposing opinion.

Progressives are incredibly environmentally friendly. They do their best to save the planet. For example, they recycle and limit their use of plastic.

The friends of Progressives are very different. All of them are unique in their own ways. Progressives are pretty sociable, so they really enjoy being surrounded by so many fun people. They take their opportunities to learn valuable stuff from their friends.

Another central point of this segment’s life is their family. They have to spend a considerable amount of time with their loved ones. In fact, they also want their family to acknowledge their success and be proud of it.

Even though Progressives are sociable extroverts, they also value alone time. That is when they reflect on everything that is happening in their lives and process all of it.

This segment tends to get in a long-term relationship when they decide to do so. Their significant other has to either be someone alike or someone with great values. Progressives get so devoted to their partners that even if they break up, they will remain friends.

Attitude to shopping:

If you want to catch the attention of Progressives with your ads, they must most importantly be entertaining. Entertaining can mean a lot of things. The ad should hold a significant meaning, something that will match this segment’s intelligence.

Progressives do not really care about packaging. Even when shopping they do not judge the book by its cover. The product matters more than the packaging.

Of course, just like a lot of other people, Progressives shop for emotional purposes. However, that should always balance functionality.

Before making a purchase, Progressives have to make sure that the product has good quality.

Progressives care about how they look. Hence why they shop for clothes a lot. But they try to hide their shopping tendencies with comfortable clothing.

Interesting facts about Progressives:

• Conscious Progressives are extremely socially involved individuals.
• Their hobbies usually mirror their intellect.
• Progressives try really difficult not to be mainstream. However, they are also pretty close to being mainstream.
• Conscious Progressives are keen media consumers.
• For Conscious Progressives, newspapers are a famous information medium.
• They are also among the most active internet consumers. It helps them stay up-to-date with the things going on in the world.
• The radio is another media channel which is well used by them

Moving along, we are going to take a look at the positioning plan of Airbnb.

Airbnb’s new thing is ‘Bélo‘. The latter signifies belonging.

The company is aiming to become something much more, something deeper than traveling.

This new symbol that the company has adopted is pretty similar to the people that utilize Airbnb. Airbnb’s number one goal is to make people feel that they belong at various sides of the world. This symbol accurately represents it.

The company encourages its users to add their customized views to Bélo.

Airbnb is even using its website’s ‘Discover’ section for travel motivation.

This company has very newly hired Jonathan Mildenhall as its primary marketing officer. The latter used to be a Coca-Cola marketer and among Marketing Week’s Vision 100 marketers.

Last but not least, we are going to analyze the marketing mix of Airbnb.

What do we mean by the marketing mix, you may ask? Well, the marketing mix is a principle that includes a company’s product, pricing, place, and promotion. You may have noticed a pattern there. All of those concepts start with the letter ‘p’. This is why people refer to the marketing mix as 4Ps as well.

Let’s look at them one by one.

Product:

Airbnb is showcased as a website through which consumers find and book hotels, roadhouses, and other sorts of housing. This company collaborates with hosts of the residencies.

Airbnb suggests a large variety of services to its consumers. The traveling people can find a play to stay and find activities to take upon, such as cooking classes and scuba diving.

The hosts are also provided with good choices. They can either host independently by documenting their property for rent or co-host with other people.

Some people that put their housing for hosting have no experience with price setting. Hence, Airbnb helps those hosts set prices by introducing similar cases.

Place:

Airbnb was something entirely different initially. Its origins go back to San Fransisco in 2007, which is not that long ago. Proprietors of the company that we know of today transferred their living space into bed and breakfast. They faced enough success to think about growing their business further. They started a website where people that could not afford hotels or could not find available rooms could use Airbnb.

By 2009 the company had already grown immensely. The company owned more properties such as full houses, flats, personal spaces, castles, ships, and etc. Of course, the distinct experiences in varying spaces differed.

Today, this company is so much larger that it has locations in over 190 countries. People can use all sorts of digital outlets to access Airbnb. Also, the company has a solid international reach.

All you need is the internet, and you will find an awesome experience that is just right for you.

Pricing:

The hosts that are utilizing Airbnb are also considered users. That is why Airbnb charges them some money as well. Consumers that book rooms on Airbnb do not have to pay fees to Airbnb directly. They pay their hosts. And what Airbnb does, is that it gains its percentage every time somebody makes a reservation. And whether the host is one person or multiple people, and what type of listing it is, does not matter.

Online ad campaigns are also an opportunity for the hosts to request bookings. The communication that goes on between consumers and hosts happens through the platform. The hosts receive their money 24 hours after the visitors check-in. And if the guests decide to cancel their stays, those have to match the policies of the hosts’ choosing.

Promotion:

The primary medium that Airbnb uses for its promotion is digital marketing. That includes but is not limited to online advertising, for example. Also, local partnerships and referral marketing are some of the other methods that the company utilizes. And of course, let us not forget community connection where people recommend each other products that they like.

Airbnb uses both traditional and modern means of marketing itself. Traditional ways would be tv ads and outdoor ads. And a modern way would be advertising through digital networks.

This company suggests viewers advertisements due to their location. That has been proven to be pretty effective. Social media analytics is also pretty important in today’s day and age. That is how the company finds its appropriate audience.

This company supports different organizations that need it. For example, in 2012, it has provided victims from hurricane Sandy in New York with a free residence. That is part of cause-related marketing.

After conducting different customer surveys, Airbnb rebranded its logo and website.

Lastly, Airbnb sponsors diverse events and collaborates with different agencies for more recognition.

And that was the market segmentation of Airbnb. This company has gained a good amount of recognition and success in just a little over 13 years. So, of course, we had to dive deeper into its tips and tricks to learn more about its marketing. We constantly come up with new content on our main website, so do make sure to check it out!