It's like holding a little piece of time in your hands.
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In early 2019, Airbnb decided to reposition their Trips platform. A name shift was part of it, but inventory was the central focus. Airbnb had no interest in promoting 'front-of-the-line' Eiffel Tower tickets or 'hop-on, hop-off' bus tours. They wanted life-changing experiences that people would talk about.
This meant curating and recruiting highly-quality, unique offerings, and then packaging them in a way that celebrated the personal transformations they triggered. After testing a range of different marketing approaches, we landed on a creative territory that emphasized authenticity, exclusive access and personal growth. We knew this approach would differentiate us from competition, but, more importantly, we knew our hosts could deliver on this promise.
A Costa Rican waterfall chaser, a vegan taxidermist, an underground jazz musician, a special effects artist, a world champion boxer and many other supremely talented hosts joined the program, and our production team fanned out across the globe to capture these incredible experiences in the wild. This unique collection of inventory became known as "Airbnb Originals", and they set the stage for the category-based approach to come.
Project
Originals
Brand
Category
Product Marketing
Released
May 2019
Recognition
Context
In early 2019, Airbnb decided to reposition their Trips platform. A name shift was part of it, but inventory was the central focus. Airbnb had no interest in promoting 'front-of-the-line' Eiffel Tower tickets or 'hop-on, hop-off' bus tours. They wanted life-changing experiences that people would talk about.
This meant curating and recruiting highly-quality, unique offerings, and then packaging them in a way that celebrated the personal transformations they triggered. After testing a range of different marketing approaches, we landed on a creative territory that emphasized authenticity, exclusive access and personal growth. We knew this approach would differentiate us from competition, but, more importantly, we knew our hosts could deliver on this promise.
A Costa Rican waterfall chaser, a vegan taxidermist, an underground jazz musician, a special effects artist, a world champion boxer and many other supremely talented hosts joined the program, and our production team fanned out across the globe to capture these incredible experiences in the wild. This unique collection of inventory became known as "Airbnb Originals", and they set the stage for the category-based approach to come.
more
Airbnb
Originals
One-of-a-kind activities, hosted by locals
Highlights
Production
Hero Films
Close Modal
Production
Hero Films
Airbnb is more than a place to stay. It's also what you do. When guests book an Airbnb Original, they gain exclusive access to the most exciting, insightful, delicious and entertaining local experiences around. No tourist traps. Just curated, one-of-a-kind activities hosted by locals– exclusively available on Airbnb.
“The ability to recover from stress is better in natural settings, because that’s where we are meant to be. Just the idea of getting out, being in nature, looking at a tree—the theory is that this helps you to recover from stress, improves your mental health, and improves cognition. It’s just a direct pathway.”
Peter James, PhD
Quantifying Nature
"Nature experience boosts memory, attention and creativity as well as happiness, social engagement and a sense of meaning in life. It might not surprise us that nature stimulates physical activity, but the associated health benefits – from reducing cancer risks to promoting metabolic and other functioning – are really quite astonishing.”
Gretchen Daily, Bing Professor of Environmental Science
National Academy of Sciences
"Allowing children time for unstructured activities in nature seemed beneficial for children's positive affect, attitudes towards nature, and pro-sociality. These findings seem especially relevant given that free play outdoors in nature is declining.”
John Zelenski, PhD
Journal of Environmental Psychology
“Experiencing awe in nature is a powerful way to impact people’s psychology, even as they’re doing something they really like to do. Our findings suggest that you don’t have to do extravagant, extraordinary experiences in nature to feel awe or to get benefits. By taking a few minutes to enjoy flowers that are blooming or a sunset in your day-to-day life, you also improve your well-being.”
Craig Anderson, PhD
Awe in Nature Heals
"There is ample data to suggest that having good social relationships is helpful for our psychological and physical health. Having a ‘good relationship’ with nature, or rather, a sense of close connection to it, may be helpful in a similar way or for similar reasons. We evolved to want to connect—with people, but also with places and other living things."
Cynthia Frantz, PhD
Why is Nature Beneficial? The Role of Connectedness to Nature
"Nature therapy as a health-promotion method and potential universal health model is implicated for the reduction of reported modern-day “stress-state” and “technostress.”"
Harumi Ikei, PhD, Chuba University
Psychological Effects of Nature Therapy
Production
Hero Films
Airbnb is more than a place to stay. It's also what you do. When guests book an Airbnb Original, they gain exclusive access to the most exciting, insightful, delicious and entertaining local experiences around. No tourist traps. Just curated, one-of-a-kind activities hosted by locals– exclusively available on Airbnb.
“The ability to recover from stress is better in natural settings, because that’s where we are meant to be. Just the idea of getting out, being in nature, looking at a tree—the theory is that this helps you to recover from stress, improves your mental health, and improves cognition. It’s just a direct pathway.”
Peter James, PhD
Quantifying Nature
"Nature experience boosts memory, attention and creativity as well as happiness, social engagement and a sense of meaning in life. It might not surprise us that nature stimulates physical activity, but the associated health benefits – from reducing cancer risks to promoting metabolic and other functioning – are really quite astonishing.”
Gretchen Daily, Bing Professor of Environmental Science
National Academy of Sciences
"Allowing children time for unstructured activities in nature seemed beneficial for children's positive affect, attitudes towards nature, and pro-sociality. These findings seem especially relevant given that free play outdoors in nature is declining.”
John Zelenski, PhD
Journal of Environmental Psychology
“Experiencing awe in nature is a powerful way to impact people’s psychology, even as they’re doing something they really like to do. Our findings suggest that you don’t have to do extravagant, extraordinary experiences in nature to feel awe or to get benefits. By taking a few minutes to enjoy flowers that are blooming or a sunset in your day-to-day life, you also improve your well-being.”
Craig Anderson, PhD
Awe in Nature Heals
"There is ample data to suggest that having good social relationships is helpful for our psychological and physical health. Having a ‘good relationship’ with nature, or rather, a sense of close connection to it, may be helpful in a similar way or for similar reasons. We evolved to want to connect—with people, but also with places and other living things."
Cynthia Frantz, PhD
Why is Nature Beneficial? The Role of Connectedness to Nature
"Nature therapy as a health-promotion method and potential universal health model is implicated for the reduction of reported modern-day “stress-state” and “technostress.”"
Harumi Ikei, PhD, Chuba University
Psychological Effects of Nature Therapy
