I’ve been traveling Italy 🇮🇹 for the last 3 weeks…

During that time, I’ve stayed in 5 Airbnb’s.

• An oddly spacious apartment in Rome
• A quaint villa in Tuscany (it was for a wedding)
• A hip loft in Florence (that turned out to be a mosquito hotspot)
• A tiny bedroom in Cinque Terre (it had a magnificent balcony + view)
• A peaceful, high-ceilinged condo in Bologna (where I’m writing now)

As a marketer, I can’t help but analyze how a business works.

And since Airbnb has been such a prominent part of my life over the last few weeks…

…this edition of the Hook will break down the marketing behind Airbnb’s easy-to-use app.

I’ll start with the good stuff, and then I’ll talk about a few areas where I think there’s room for improvement.

(Hint: You can use the same marketing strategy to grow your small business.)

Part I: The Good

Hosting an apartment on Airbnb is a great way to generate revenue because it gives you a plug-and-play marketing strategy.

What do I mean by that?

Well, here’s how I build a marketing strategy for my clients:

Let’s break down each element.

The Offer

Airbnb helps hosts CLEARLY define what their offer is.

For example:

Within seconds we know:

• The type of location (a studio apartment)
• What it looks like—thanks to the pictures 🖼️
• What amenities it offers ☑️
• Where it’s located 🗺️
• The price according to the length of your stay 💰 📅

As small business owners, your job is to help your customers make informed decisions.

Clarifying your offer makes the rest of your marketing more effective.

The Persona

Airbnb attracts a certain type of persona with its marketing.

Let me give you an example.

✅ Airbnb attracts people looking for unique, personalized experiences or people who need accommodations for extended periods.

It’s for people who want a "home away from home" with more space and amenities than a typical hotel room.

A quick persona breakdown might look like this:

The Cultural Explorer

• Demographics: Aged 25-40, often solo travelers or couples without children.
• Characteristics: These travelers seek unique, authentic experiences rather than standardized ones. They prefer staying in neighborhoods rather than tourist areas to immerse themselves in the local culture.
• Preferences: Value privacy, a homey feel, and the ability to cook or live like a local. They often look for unique accommodations like treehouses, lofts, or historic homes.

Which differs from…

❌ Hotels, that cater to people needing convenience, traditional luxury, and professional service. They attract travelers who prefer predictability and amenities like room service and daily housekeeping.

A quick persona breakdown for a hotel might look like this:

The Business Traveler

• Demographics: Professionals aged 30-50.
• Characteristics: Travel for work, value efficiency, convenience, and reliable amenities.
• Preferences: Central locations, business facilities like conference rooms, gyms, reliable Wi-Fi, and dining options. Often, they have short stays and value loyalty programs.

The point is that Airbnb created an offer for a specific persona.

Hosts don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The hard work of customer research and preferences is mostly done for them.

The Positioning

The offer, the persona, and the positioning of your business are all related.

But when it comes to positioning, think of it as how you articulate your offer and persona.

Specifically, you’re defining what you’re the best at. What makes you stand apart from the competition.

And that’s what informs your messaging.

Just take a look at this:

This copy appeals to the persona of “The Cultural Explorer” and NOT “The Business Traveler”.

Thanks to their clearly defined offer and persona in the market, hosts have an easier time speaking to their prospective guests because they know what they want.

The Proof

Once you clarify your offer, define your persona, and position yourself in the market, you need to PROVE you can deliver on those promises.

Ideally, you want:

• Testimonials from your persona
• Describing their experience of your offer
• Demonstrating your unique positioning

This builds trust and makes it easier for new customers to do business with you.

Check out how Airbnb does this for its hosts:

When it comes to collecting testimonials, here are a few tips:

• More specific = better
• 1 benefit per testimonial
• Placement is everything—so place them after you make a promise or near your call to action

Part II: The Not-So-Good

So far we’ve covered 4 out of the 5 elements of a marketing strategy.

• The Offer
• The Persona
• The Position
• The Proof

What’s missing from the plug-and-play marketing Airbnb offers its hosts is a way to scale. AKA: The Plan.

NOTE: I’m not talking about Airbnb itself—I’m sure they have a plan to get more people using the app.

I’m referring to people who host on Airbnb.

Because by the very nature of the business, hosts are using rented space.

They can only grow within the confines of Airbnb.

They give a percentage of profits to Airbnb and are at the mercy of the app.

If Airbnb decides to shut down a listing, or if their account gets hacked/deleted, the host has no way to generate income.

The similarity here for us digital entrepreneurs is building your business solely on social media.

You need a way to speak to your customers, that you control. Mainly, this means having an email list…

But that’s a topic for another time.

Let’s focus on some ways hosts can grow their business beyond Airbnb.

To do that, let’s look through the lens of 3 GROWTH LEVERS.

Growth lever #1: Increase the Number of Customers

They’ve pretty much got this covered.

By building a profile on Airbnb, and using their plug-and-play marketing strategy, hosts will attract new clients because of everything we’ve covered so far.

Growth lever #2: Increase the Average Order Value (AOV)

A business needs a steady stream of new customers in order to scale.

BUT… it’s important to remember that:

You’re best buyers, are your buyers.

In other words, the people who are most likely to buy from you, are the people who have ALREADY bought from you.

For example:

If you’ve ever been asked, “Would you like fries with that?”, or if you’ve ever been offered VIP access to a virtual event—those are upsells.

And someone who’s in the process of buying is very likely to keep buying.

It’s a great way to boost revenue, and as far as I can tell, Airbnb doesn’t offer any upsell options for hosts/guests.

Here are a few upsells I brainstormed while writing this:

• Want your fridge stocked with wine, beer, and water, so you don’t have to go and get some when you’re already exhausted from a long day of travel?
• Want us to book dinner reservations for your stay?
• Need access to a washing machine?
• Need a car?
• Need a driver?
• Need a translator?

Once in contact with their guests, hosts can increase their revenue by offering upsells like this.

Growth lever #3: Increase the frequency of orders

Only one host was smart enough to recognize this lever so far…

Check this out:

After my stay in Cinque Terre, the host gave me this card.

She told me:

“It's a discount on future bookings for friends and family. Just contact us directly.”

And I love it.

Because once you have a guest stay with you, you know 2 important things:

• You like them and they’re good guests
• They like to travel and stay in places just like yours (they fit your persona)

Meaning, you want them to come back and buy again.

(You also want them to tell their friends about you since they likely have similar interests.)

The hard part of generating awareness (and new customers) is done thanks to Airbnb.

Hosts can grow their network and rent out the place by cutting out the middleman.

This also has the added benefits of saving guests money and boosting profit.

If you're wondering how you can implement this growth lever in you're own business, monthly memberships and community are the way to go.

Steal Airbnb’s Marketing Strategy to Grow Your Small Business

You probably aren’t growing an Airbnb-based business…

But, you can apply the strategic elements they use in their marketing to grow your own business.

Get started building your:

• Irresistible offer
• Focused persona
• Clear positioning
• Undeniable proof
• Strategic plan

Today, and you’ll start seeing results that much sooner.

Thanks So Much for Reading!

Have questions? Want me to cover something in the next issue?

Just reply to this email and let me know.

Keep Learning,

Nico

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P.P.S. Is it just me… or is lemon 🍋 & basil 🍃 gelato nasty?! 🤢 Please let me know I’m not alone in coming to this conclusion! (I respect all opinions to the contrary 😉)