• by Mark Macias , Columnist, June 19, 2018

Airbnb might be approaching $100 million in annual revenue, but it’s ignoring an existential threat that has the potential to fundamentally destroy its revenue model. It’s a lesson in messaging and crisis PR that no entrepreneur or marketing professional should ignore.

Pick any city that attracts tourists and you will hear about municipalities cracking down on Airbnb. They want to make it illegal to rent your home for fewer than 30 days.

It’s as if these laws are written by the hotel trade industry — and that’s the first PR mistake that Airbnb is making with messaging.

Mistake #1 - Allows the Competition to Define the Narrative

In New York, you can’t turn on the news without seeing a commercial blaming Airbnb for rising rents. 

When it comes to the media narrative, you have a better chance of controlling the message when you are pitching the story to reporters. The hotel trade industry keeps defining the narrative with a better storyline. The Airbnb PR team can counter this by pitching more enterprise angles to reporters. 

Mistake #2 - Muddles the Message

The city comptroller, Scott Stringer, recently published a report that blamed Airbnb for expensive rents. 

So what was Airbnb’s response to the New York Times?

“Airbnb officials said the report confused causation with correlation by blaming the company for higher rents that could have been raised by other factors, like rezoning. However, the comptroller’s study included variables like household income, population, and employment rates.”

Don’t ever use the phrase “confused causation with correlation” when defending your company to the media. Be clear and concise.

Mistake #3 -  Not Fighting Hard Enough

The comptroller’s report also labeled Airbnb a corporate giant stealing money from New York renters. It’s catchy, and that’s probably why the narrative stuck with local news.

The Airbnb PR team should have fought back. Its CMO should have pulled out internal statistics that show families and retired couples are using Airbnb to supplement their income. I’m not privy to internal conversations among the Airbnb C-suite, but I could have made stronger arguments on why Airbnb is great for the community. It creates jobs in the housing service sector industry; it puts 97% of the profits in the hands of the homeowners who live in the community; it is supplementing income for many families; should I go on?

Mistake #4 - Investigate the Sources

Has anyone bothered to look into how much the hotel trade industry donated to Stringer’s campaign?

I suspect the hotel industry has a very close ear to Stringer’s policy and PR team. Airbnb needs to fight if its business is wrongly accused of something. Search for ulterior motives and, if they uncover unethical motivations, share them with the media.

Mistake #5 - Tell a Better Story

During my time as executive producer with NBC, I was frequently pitched stories that had an agenda. It was my job as a journalist to dig deeper and make sure the narrative was fair. 

Airbnb must identify better features that demonstrate how it is helping the community, like telling stories on how it is creating jobs and igniting new cash flow for families.

I’ve used Airbnb all over the world and loved their services. I saw Airbnb bring strangers together from different cultures. I’ve watched friends make money with the service that created even more jobs. Airbnb needs to tell those stories. It also needs a new CMO to take the reins and communicate a better story. 

If they don’t move fast, the hotel trade industry will win and homeowners will lose. Now, that's a conflict story the media will love to cover.