Airbnb: Disaster Relief Housing Initiative
With a group of a few people, I was able to launch a campaign for Airbnb after identifying the need to fill the empty rental property market while simultaneously contributing to a more significant social purpose, which is to offer free lodging to families after natural disasters within the U.S. Click the link below to see how the housing initiative would look like and how we would fund it through different PR tactics.
In keeping with the company's mission to "unlock the power of sharing space, resources, and support in times of need," this program will increase awareness of Airbnb's new philanthropic initiative and fund to house families after natural disasters.
Key Message
Airbnb is the only major rental home company that understands the urgency for disaster relief housing and is committed to providing free shelter to communities in need through donations.
Known Research: Need and Opportunity
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US Natural Disasters
97 natural disasters occurred in 2021
Nearly 15 million homes across America were destroyed
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Airbnb
There are over 2,311,507 Airbnb listings in the United States alone
Airbnb has found over 200,000 people places to stay since 2012
Currently has 6 nonprofit partners (IMC, CORE, IRC, IFRC, HIAS, and Build Change)
SWOT
Based on the PR campaign, I have defined and analyzed some of the external and internal factors.
Strengths
Purposeful mission statement
First mover advantage for the home sharing business; offers a cheaper alternative to hotels
Strong recognition and celebrity connections
Global network and consistently growing platform
Opportunities
Focused philanthropy
More long-term rental opportunities
Improved customer service
Increased brand partnerships
Weaknesses
Supply and demand mismatch
Regulations and lawsuit issues
Poor customer service
Possible scams
Threats
Pandemic/Global health crisis
Changing legal frameworks and vulnerability to lawsuits
Competition (Home Away → Vrbo)
Strategies
organize and hold memorable events
develop influencer and celebrity partnerships to increase donations toward the fund
focus communications on community and human-centric stories related to disaster relief
Tactics + Evaluations
Tactic 1
Airbnb will throw a Gala inviting lots of celebrities and we will invite celebrities who have been involved in disaster relief
We will have nine main celebrities who will be the face of the gala consisting of Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Jennifer Lopez, Ellen Degeneres, Nicki Minaj, DJ Khaled, Kim Kardashian, and Beyonce
Evaluation: Calculate the amount of funds raised + Instagram posts and stories made by Gala attendees
Tactic 2
October 13 is International Day for Disaster Reduction 2023
Airbnb will highlight on their social media accounts this international holiday
Evaluation: Measure through # of hashtags used on Instagram posts
Tactic 3
Airbnb will send their CEO to the site of the natural disaster to help volunteer and assist any need of the community
We will stage a photo of the hands-on work that the Airbnb CEO is participating in, and we will publish those images to our social media, our website, and in a press release to the public
Evaluation: Track the amount of likes on Instagram and number of retweets on Twitter
Tactic 4
Airbnb will have a press conference at the Airbnb Headquarters in San Francisco, the day the initiative launches
This conference will provide a speaking opportunity for the CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, who will be joined by the Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, Michael Byrne
Evaluation: Count how many different media outlets/news releases were generated from the press conference
As a team, we devised several tactics for how the Airbnb project could work out.
Tactic 5
Airbnb will have a partnership with Tiktok influencers that specialise in producing Airbnb content including: @thesunrisehomes, @selfbnb, @laurenpiller_, @melefante
They will hold live streams and create around 2 videos talking about Airbnb’s new disaster relief housing initiative to rally up donations that can be sent through a link in their bio or through collecting virtual gifts
Evaluation: Track the amount of video shares
Tactic 6
Launch the new logo as the app’s icon
Create a new landing page for Airbnb’s website and app explaining the new initiative and asking customers to donate
Evaluation: Track # of donations made through that specific landing page
PESO Model
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Targeted ads on social media (e.g. TikTok, Instagram)
Printed paper ads on local magazines and newspaper
Local television commercials
Spotify ads about natural disaster or Airbnb housing
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Chattanooga, TN
WTVC News Channel 9 ABC: Local family pilot program success story
Chattanooga Times Free Press: Disaster preparedness pick up center at City Hall, YouTube video, TikTok
Yakima, WA
KAPP Television: New Airbnb offices in Chattanooga, up-and-coming tech hub
Yakima Herald - Republic: Letter to the Editor
National
Good Morning America: TN or WA family
New York Times: Exclusive CEO profile
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Actively posting about natural disaster and Airbnb housing-related posts and stories on social media
Reposting or retweeting tagged posts and stories about the event
Share photos of Airbnb by #airbnbopendoor on social media to be featured on the gallery on our website
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Original social media posts (Airbnb)
Airbnb newsroom, website, company blog posts promoting the event
Webinars about natural disaster to raise awareness