Hotelbnb
By Ogilvy - Tegucigalpa
For Hotel Honduras Maya Brand Hotel Honduras Maya
Highly Commended in category Direct
In subcategory Consumer Marketing
Project Description
What were the business, marketing and communication objetives that lay behind the case? describe the target audience and their relationship with the brand. Explain the unique insight that shaped the idea. How was it relevant to both the client and the target audience, this information
Agency Solution
It occurred to us: if Airbnb’s market wasn’t coming to us, why not go straight to them?
After all, Airbnb hosts are all regular folks. People who want the opportunity to be great hosts to the tourists coming to their hometown. People who believe they have a place where these visitors will feel comfortable, welcome, and free to experience the best of our country. We realized that we have people like that, too: our employees.
And they had such an elegant, easy-to-use platform. We had long since gone to the trouble of listing our hotel on all the popular online directories: Hotels.com, Booking.com, Expedia, Trivago, Tripadvisor... you have to, nowadays. It’s just common sense.
So why not one more? Why not use the very same platform that’s been steering away potential customers to relaunch our brand, targeting them directly?
Our target was the millennial generation (ages 18-35), taking into consideration that by 2025, they will account for 75% of all travelers. Approximately 60% of Airbnb users are in this target demographic. Particularly of interest to us was the fact that this is a demographic that prioritizes travel over purchasing a home or saving for the future. We found that in general, they do not consider hotels as an option out of concern that their experience will be artificial or inauthentic.
Our approach was to create Airbnb listings that showcased our location in one of Tegucigalpa’s trendiest neighborhoods, with bohemian coffeeshops, artisanal beer and cigar shops, and the hottest nightclubs in the city all within a 2-minute walk from the hotel. We knew that this image refresh would effectively relaunch our brand, allowing us to reframe our offering in a light the target would feel an affinity for.
We analyzed Airbnb’s most popular listings in our region to identify the common stylistic choices in photography, descriptions, and host profiles. We redesigned and refurnished the rooms, in keeping with the trends that appeal to our target market: painting the walls, replacing outdated furniture, and putting in accent pieces to give each room an individual identity.
We created user profiles for our employees, including a photoshoot for the profile picture. We created individual bank accounts for each employee and assigned a digital team to help them keep track of incoming requests and inquiries, and follow up to ensure guests left reviews. Our hosts welcomed the guests personally and showed them all the amenities they were getting for the price of a spare room.
After all, Airbnb hosts are all regular folks. People who want the opportunity to be great hosts to the tourists coming to their hometown. People who believe they have a place where these visitors will feel comfortable, welcome, and free to experience the best of our country. We realized that we have people like that, too: our employees.
And they had such an elegant, easy-to-use platform. We had long since gone to the trouble of listing our hotel on all the popular online directories: Hotels.com, Booking.com, Expedia, Trivago, Tripadvisor... you have to, nowadays. It’s just common sense.
So why not one more? Why not use the very same platform that’s been steering away potential customers to relaunch our brand, targeting them directly?
Our target was the millennial generation (ages 18-35), taking into consideration that by 2025, they will account for 75% of all travelers. Approximately 60% of Airbnb users are in this target demographic. Particularly of interest to us was the fact that this is a demographic that prioritizes travel over purchasing a home or saving for the future. We found that in general, they do not consider hotels as an option out of concern that their experience will be artificial or inauthentic.
Our approach was to create Airbnb listings that showcased our location in one of Tegucigalpa’s trendiest neighborhoods, with bohemian coffeeshops, artisanal beer and cigar shops, and the hottest nightclubs in the city all within a 2-minute walk from the hotel. We knew that this image refresh would effectively relaunch our brand, allowing us to reframe our offering in a light the target would feel an affinity for.
We analyzed Airbnb’s most popular listings in our region to identify the common stylistic choices in photography, descriptions, and host profiles. We redesigned and refurnished the rooms, in keeping with the trends that appeal to our target market: painting the walls, replacing outdated furniture, and putting in accent pieces to give each room an individual identity.
We created user profiles for our employees, including a photoshoot for the profile picture. We created individual bank accounts for each employee and assigned a digital team to help them keep track of incoming requests and inquiries, and follow up to ensure guests left reviews. Our hosts welcomed the guests personally and showed them all the amenities they were getting for the price of a spare room.