Airbnb’s Ultimate Destination: Exploring Extraordinary Experiences with Global Head of Marketing Hiroki Asai

[00:00:02] Airbnb is really about these connections and these experiences, these real life connections and experiences that you can have with people. What we offer isn't something that you do on a screen. What we offer is connection and an experience that you can have in real life, which I love.

[00:00:21] To thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape, brands must move in an ever-increasing pace. I'm Matt Britton, founder and CEO of Suzy. Join me and key industry leaders as we dive deep into the shifting consumer trends within their industry, why it matters now and how you can keep up.

[00:00:36] Welcome to The Speed of Culture. Up today, we're thrilled to be joined by Hiroki Asai, the global head of marketing at Airbnb. Airbnb has obviously seen phenomenal growth over the last couple of years. One of my favorite brands.

[00:00:52] I'm really looking forward to this. Hiroki, thanks so much for joining. Great to see you today. Thanks for having me, Matt. Happy to be here. Absolutely. So tell me a little bit about your background. Did it start on the marketing side, the design side?

[00:01:04] How did you enter the great world of marketing? Funny. It's a long story. I started on the design side. I studied as a graphic designer and then graduated college and started to work in design studios.

[00:01:15] And then most designers went up the ranks and started to work on larger and larger projects. And then I think at some point in my career, I realized that I was OK as a graphic designer. I wasn't fantastic.

[00:01:28] And then maybe I should start taking a look at other avenues to take this. And so I think, you know, kind of naturally, I segued into doing things more on the marketing side. It's broader than graphic design.

[00:01:40] Gotcha. And obviously where you have your background is a lot of people really have their heart. A lot of marketers don't really have an eye for design. They're more focused on the performance metrics or the actual tactics. I would imagine given that your background isn't design,

[00:01:52] you're truly aware of the aspects of design and how it impacts any campaign that you bring to market. What's interesting is I think my design background gave me the skills to understand form and typography and all those sorts of things in story.

[00:02:05] But I think more importantly, I think what it gave me is this understanding of the customer and understanding of an audience. And I think that's something that I really try and hold on to every day that we do things.

[00:02:19] And every season where we go through a campaign is really understand the other person that's going to be at the other end of this, because I think it's very easy for us to work into design for ourselves and for what we think is important versus what the person

[00:02:33] at the other end of it actually thinks is important. Yeah. That being said, though, I do think, and I'm sure you agree, that there's general trends in design that happen over time. Like if you have been designed from the 70s or 90s, it obviously looks different from today.

[00:02:46] I know you spent 16 years at Apple and what Apple is really known for, in my opinion, from a design standpoint is sort of like simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. The use of white space and basically easy to read, easy to understand, creative, I think.

[00:03:00] And obviously translated all the way through their products. Like where does a movement like that kind of come from? And are we still in that movement when it comes to just overall design trends?

[00:03:10] Yeah, I think it's probably less of a movement and a trend and more that it's a principle that we try and employ here at Airbnb also is that the person at the other end

[00:03:21] of your work or your communication or the app has a lot going on and you're probably not the center of their universe. So you're competing for attention, you're competing for headspace and you're competing

[00:03:34] for ears. And so I think getting to the point making it as elegant and simple as possible is a really good discipline in making sure that what you're trying to do cuts through. Absolutely. And we talk about being built for the flick and especially when you look at

[00:03:48] younger consumers are spending all their time now not on watching the television, but on their phone in social media feeds where you have a limited amount of time to gain their attention. And if you try to overcomplicate it, they're just going to flick right by you.

[00:04:00] It's interesting. It's human nature to try and add more to a story, to embellish it, make it bigger, trying to bring someone in. And I think what happens to a lot of designers and marketers and storytellers is

[00:04:12] you start to add so much that you start to get ahead of who you're talking to. And the reality is, like you said, people are swiping through pages and they've got 50 things going on at the same time. They have lives to lead.

[00:04:23] They have families, they have friends, they have a weekend plan that they're trying to figure out. And so you really need to feel a lot of restraint and stay at it as simply and quickly as possible. And it's so difficult. It's so much harder than it sounds.

[00:04:38] Yeah, this is a lot about discipline, especially in an organization. There was a very famous meme where they said, and I don't think this is the case of Microsoft at all anymore. But at one point it was like, this is how Apple

[00:04:49] would design a product. Here's how Microsoft would just show how Microsoft's very feature-laden in their messaging and was just kind of too much. And Apple just sent two or three words. And I think at large companies, there's often like multiple departments. Everybody wants to get their feature in.

[00:05:05] Everybody wants to put in their two cents. At the end, you have something that is all things to everyone and nothing to no one. So I think it's much harder. Imagine it's much harder than a large organization to impose that discipline because you're fighting against internal forces.

[00:05:18] Yeah, and I think that's what's unique about Airbnb these days. And what we're really lucky to have is we have founders that are creative. So we have founders that are designers. Yeah. So let's get into that. I mean, Airbnb is obviously an incredible generational company.

[00:05:31] You joined Airbnb in 2020. So we're talking about the middle of the pandemic. Obviously, there were certain points in 2020 where people thought Airbnb was going to be out of business. But obviously, they went through a really distressed time where they had

[00:05:44] to raise money. And then towards the end of 2020, we started to see this trend where people wanted to get out of their homes and being in hotels wasn't safe and renting your own home Airbnb was great. Talk just about that journey when you first joined Airbnb.

[00:05:57] What surprised you when you first started working, I guess, remotely at that company and kind of the ups and downs of your first year there? It's funny. I was advising pre-pandemic actually. So I was there for about six months before the pandemic hit.

[00:06:11] And it was kind of fascinating. It was great to witness a company that was under such hypergrowth and the expansion was just happening so quickly. It's a little overwhelming, the speed of growth that they were experiencing. And then to see it all stop overnight was unbelievable.

[00:06:28] So then I came on shortly after the pandemic had started to help reorganize and reshape the marketing and the design teams and other things as well. But it was pretty amazing. It was pretty remarkable to see, I mean, you know, who gets hit harder

[00:06:42] in a pandemic than a travel company when travel becomes comes to a standstill basically. And how do you look at marketing and communications during a period like that? Is it basically telling consumers we're still here when the dust settles?

[00:06:57] Because that's such an also a tenuous time in terms of marketing because you don't want to say the wrong thing either. So like, how did you approach that? I guess when you first joined, what when the pandemic did hit? Yeah. And this is kind of unique to Airbnb.

[00:07:09] And this is kind of interesting as most companies are one product for a million people. Airbnb is a million products for a million people because everyone and every home is different. Every experience is different. And so it's got unlimited variability, which means the way that

[00:07:25] that supply gets used could be unlimited as well. And so in the pandemic, what's interesting about us is people tend to use Airbnbs in the way that they need based on what's happening. So the pandemic happens and we go from being vacation rentals to suddenly

[00:07:41] a way to get away as a family or to get out of the city or get to a larger place or work remotely. And so I think your question was, what do you do as a marketer or a storyteller in that environment?

[00:07:52] And I think it just really goes back to that basic principle of let's really understand what the customer is doing. We all know the mindset. We all know the frame of mind. We all know the uncertainty and the terror that's happening.

[00:08:05] But then we can also see trends of how they're using us and how we're transforming. And so I think we really need to be able to speak to that and talk to them and meet them where they're at, if that makes sense. It makes complete sense.

[00:08:17] So fast forward to today, 2024, and the brand has come out of what was a tenuous time, obviously really on fire and really is an iconic global brand that has really redefined travel. I stay in Airbnbs all the time, love the brand, love the work

[00:08:31] that you guys are doing. What's your vision for the brand moving forward and what are some of the key 10 pulls that you believe are core to the overall messaging and value that Airbnb provides? I guess the first part to that question is

[00:08:43] what we're really trying to do right now is to convince people that if you're going to travel, especially with a group, some trips are always going to be better on an Airbnb. There's just some limits to the physical structure of a hotel

[00:08:55] and the physical location of a hotel that's going to limit your trip. Like you have to sleep in bed with your kids. That one is, you know, that's the perfect example. That was an awesome insight. Yeah, and there's these kind of truths hiding in plain sight

[00:09:07] about traveling in a hotel versus an Airbnb. But what's core to Airbnb is really about when you travel and if you get a great host, there is a sense of connection that happens. And there's also a sense of connection that happens

[00:09:21] when you use Airbnb because families are much closer together. Friends get to share one space. And so the core of the experience that people have is a connected experience with us, a real human connection.

[00:09:32] Now, there's other ways that you can connect without staying in a place as well. And so we're really excited to start to lean into some of these other territories and offerings where we can offer human connection. Yeah. And I know that you had mentioned earlier

[00:09:49] that different people look at Airbnb and use it for different things. Some people will now use it for ski trips. Other people use it for family meetings, et cetera. I would imagine with all the advancements we've seen with AI

[00:10:00] and programmatic and the ability to sort of personalize its scale, that that provides a whole new realm of opportunities for you to really be contextually relevant for your different consumers that you're going out and messaging. It does. And that's actually really exciting for us

[00:10:15] is the ability and the potential to employ AI in our app and a lot of our services, because when you think about it, everyone's ski trip is going to be different. Everyone's family reunion is totally different needs, different locations, different sizes, different things that they want to do.

[00:10:33] And so when it comes to matching and personalization and being able to design that kind of a trip, we think that there's a lot of potential in AI. It's very exciting. Yeah, for sure. And just to say, do you think the old way of advertising

[00:10:49] like what used to be in the world of linear television, you would just hear about people's unique selling propositions, like 350 horsepower or 20 percent more absorbent, because companies had the ability to cram those messages down to consumers' throats because they didn't have the ability

[00:11:04] to skip over it and they could just write a big check. And now you don't really see that anymore because I think brands are digging to earn consumers attention, especially in a social media context. And they are all shifting the storytelling.

[00:11:16] So in that regard, like would Airbnb ever put out messaging about like how easy is the pay or just things that are really functional on the product? Or do you think we're in a world as it relates to you and marketing

[00:11:27] in general, that's far more just exclusively in the storytelling realm? I think it's a mix of all those things, to be honest. The way we look at it, and it's a lot about the way that we're designed as a company is we're very functionally organized.

[00:11:39] And so we have a design group that's really focused on design, product group is focused on product, advertising, advertising, marketing on marketing. And what that allows us to do is we can cross pollinate and work cross-functionally to really think about the customer

[00:11:54] and how to talk to them when they're at specific points. And I think at the highest level we do, there is still a lot of people out there that don't really understand the benefits of traveling on an Airbnb

[00:12:03] versus a cruise or a hotel or staying in a hotel district. And so there's kind of that job to do. And there's a right place and the right story to tell that. And then there's things like easy payment methods, the ability to find something very, very quickly.

[00:12:17] And those are communicated through the experience of the product. And so I think humans, there's certain things you're OK listening to and hearing, and there's certain things you kind of don't want to hear. And the best way to communicate it is just through experiencing it.

[00:12:33] And then there's all this stuff in between, I guess. And so when you can think about all those things at once and take a look at it from how was the customer watching TV, listening to the radio, listening to a podcast, picking up the app,

[00:12:46] opening it, getting an email, talking to someone else. How all of these things work together, I think, is the way that we like to think. And we've purposefully designed our organization to be able to do that as well. We'll be right back with the speed of culture

[00:13:01] after a few words from our sponsors. One interesting thing about Airbnb is unlike when you rent an apartment or even like at a hotel, like if you get a hotel room at like a Westin, you probably stayed in the Westin before,

[00:13:13] so you generally know what the rooms look like. People will book an Airbnb and rely on the pictures, but they've never really been there. And for maybe a big choice like a family reunion or a big birthday, you want to be more sure.

[00:13:25] And now with like the Apple Vision Pro out and the ability to be immersed in these experiences, do you see that being a bigger part of your storytelling to allow to kind of be risk for your customer? Almost like feeling like you're there before you go.

[00:13:39] So you book with more confidence. Yeah, I think, you know, Airbnb was one of the first commerce sites to employ really rich full screen photography of homes. And so we've always been at the forefront of embracing these kinds of technologies to basically manage the right

[00:13:55] expectations and let people know what they're going to get. So when it comes to technologies in showcasing homes or in the UI and the app itself, we're always looking towards new kinds of mediums and new technologies to do that.

[00:14:08] But I think the way we look at technology is it's always going to be in service of the connection. It's never going to replace the connection. Right. And it's not really the idea. Technology is never really the idea.

[00:14:19] It's a medium or a method to get whatever your core messaging is across. Right. And for a brand like ours, which is all about human connection, we're going to actively look at any kind of technology that's going to enable that to make it simpler and easier.

[00:14:33] Yeah. So I know we talked about sort of the personalization, but I would also imagine at the same time, Airbnb has a distinct consumer segmentation in terms of different types of consumers that are, I guess, using your product in different ways.

[00:14:46] How do you look at that segmentation and how is it evolving over time, given, I guess, more recent consumer trends in the marketplace? Yeah, Airbnb at its core is great for group travel. And we always tend to attract the type of travelers that travel in groups.

[00:15:01] Now, luckily, that's across every generation. When you're younger and you're taking a weekend ski trip with your buddies or your first weekend away with a partner, you're going to want to have all the benefits of what you would get

[00:15:14] in group travels if you were family or a group of friends that are older. And so when it comes to our segmentation, we definitely look at each emerging category of customer and of guest. And we want to speak to them or media and our tactics appropriately.

[00:15:30] But really, the core thing that we're selling across all those segments and all the people is just this idea of traveling as a group, connectedness and togetherness on a trip. Yeah. And that's where like memories are formed. Those are where the lifelong memories are formed, right?

[00:15:47] Those group travel when you bring family or friends together, when people look back at their lives, those are some of the moments that people will note as transformational in many ways. So I think for Airbnb to play a role in that is really special.

[00:15:59] Yeah, group travel for us is a really big deal. It's become more and more clear that I think we're up to now 81 percent of the trips on Airbnb are group trips. And it makes sense given the kind of supply that we have.

[00:16:10] And we've done a lot this year to design for group travel, too. We have a whole new way. We basically rewrote our messaging app in order to enable the group not only to travel as a group, but to be able to communicate

[00:16:23] as a group so the host can talk to them immediately. All guests can talk back to the host. We've done a huge amount of work in making sure that once someone makes a booking, that an invitation gets sent out so everyone understands

[00:16:36] all the details and everyone could download all that information into the trips tab. And we've also done a lot of work in wishlist to make sure that groups can actually choose a home together and they can vote. They can take notes, they can share the wishlist.

[00:16:52] So we're really investing heavily in this facilitating groups. Right. So it goes beyond just booking the place. You're playing a role in deciding what place the book in and people collaborating over that decision and ultimately sharing and enjoying the experience.

[00:17:07] Yeah, and facilitating that collaboration that we know is already happening today. Absolutely. So I know that we're on the kind of peak of some big news for Airbnb. And I'd love you to share with us some of the big things

[00:17:20] Airbnb has planned for the summer for our audience here at Skida Culture. Yeah, so we are getting ready to announce maybe by the time this airs, we would have already announced icons on Airbnb, which are super, super exciting.

[00:17:34] When you tell the story of icons, it's kind of interesting because Airbnb started as this place where people can share their world. And it started with tugboats and sometimes at submarines and graduated into houses and then houses of all shapes and sizes.

[00:17:49] But it's always been this platform where people share a little bit of their world to everyone else. Now, while we were growing, there's also been a lot of things that have been listed that have really taken off, like the Barbie house got listed, the Shrek house got listed,

[00:18:04] the last blockbuster got listed. And those things really took off and they kind of captured people's imagination because I think people come to Airbnb with this idea of taking a window into a whole other world. And so we've pushed that really far this year with icons.

[00:18:20] And so we've basically gotten the 11 most interesting icons and had them list and share either their experience or their world on the platform. Can you give us some examples of some of those icons and some of the experiences that you guys are going to offer?

[00:18:35] Yeah, sure. One of the more exciting ones is the uphouse. So we've actually created the uphouse from scratch and built it and you can actually stay in it. And the thing will actually lift 50, 60 feet off the ground.

[00:18:49] No way. Like what the balloons are going to take in the sky? It's crazy. The whole thing was built. It's got tens of thousands of balloons on it. The thing actually lifts up off the ground. It's out in the plains of New Mexico and it's available for booking.

[00:19:03] It's unbelievable. We also got together with the Prince estate and the Prince family. And we actually, together with the Prince estate, rebuilt the Purple Rainhouse. Now, a couple of years before Prince passed away, he had purchased the home in Minneapolis where the movie was shot.

[00:19:19] So we together with them, we created the whole Purple Rainhouse, just like it showed up in the movie. And you could actually stay in it and you can not only stay in it, but they also have unreleased recordings that he had made

[00:19:31] leading up to Purple Rain that you can actually listen to as well while you're there. It's pretty unbelievable. We also work with Ferrari and in their trophy room, we actually built out a bedroom so you can actually stay

[00:19:44] in the Ferrari museum amongst all the trophies and all the cars. And then at the same time, you can have one of their F1 drivers take you on a lap around the Ferrari track. And so we've built and we've created and worked with a lot of these icons

[00:19:58] to create these one of a kind unbelievable experiences. There's one more. I mean, this one's my favorite, actually, is have you ever been in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris? I had a long time ago. Beautiful museum with the two giant clock towers.

[00:20:12] On the other side of those clocks are just basically big empty rooms. In one of them, we built an entire apartment out designed by the designer that designed the Olympic torch. And so that's built this unbelievably beautiful hotel room out. And so you can Airbnb it.

[00:20:31] You can stay on the other side of those clock faces in this gorgeous apartment. And you're also going to have a view to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics when they happen in Paris as the whole thing happens on the Seine. All of these icons are unbelievable.

[00:20:47] This is such a cool idea. And the question I have for you is this, obviously, the great marketing campaign and the buzz you're going to get from this is going to be unparalleled. But do you also see this as a new business opportunity

[00:20:58] where it's just sort of like an ultra premium experience that you need to build an offer on the platform moving forward at the same time? Well, what we want to do is we want to take people on a journey that Airbnb is more than just to stay.

[00:21:10] And so a lot of these icons aren't just states are actual experiences. In the uphouse, you'll be able to experience the entire recreation of the uphouse and the house itself will float. When you go to the museum door, say you'll be able to see the opening ceremonies.

[00:21:23] We're working with Doja Cat, who's going to put on a living room concert for you for her guests. And so these are all unbelievable experiences. And so what we want to do is really show people that this is the first step

[00:21:37] in thinking about Airbnb more than just stays. Right. As an experience. But I just wonder over time, there won't be a filter where you have this ultra premium search filter where there's just a hundred of these things all over the world that are just extra.

[00:21:53] It's not a normal stay. I just think people want experiences. We're in the experience economy. It's come roaring back and you see that with things like F1. You see it with things like the Taylor Swift concert tour and all

[00:22:04] sorts of things where people are willing to over invest in this. I just think this idea is right on the times in terms of where people want to invest their money and their time. And it really, I think it's going to be an amazing campaign.

[00:22:16] Just elevating how people view the brand. Yeah. And what I love about experiences too, is it really reinforces who we are. It is about going to Airbnb and staying in a place or having any experience that really opens you up to someone else's world.

[00:22:30] And the great thing about these experiences is there's icons all over the world. We're working with John B. Kapoor, who's part of the probably like the most well-known Bollywood family in the history of Bollywood in India to open up her family estate for the first

[00:22:46] time and invite her fans in to be able to hang out with her and see this estate. So it really plays to this idea, which I love that Airbnb is really about these connections and these experiences, these real life connections and experiences that you can have with people.

[00:23:02] What we offer isn't something that you do on a screen. What we offer is connection and an experience that you can have in real life, which I love. Well, very good. And thanks for sharing that with us. I can't wait to see how this unfolds the summer.

[00:23:16] It's going to be awesome to see. So shifting gears, Hiroki, as we wrap up here, you've had such a cool career and you're working and heading marketing for such an iconic company. As you look back on your career and it's been such an exciting,

[00:23:30] impactful career that you've had. What are some of the decisions that you think you made along the way that set you up for where you are today, whether it was to take a certain job or to lead into a certain skill set?

[00:23:41] Cause there's a lot of people that are well-intentioned that work hard to have skill, but they still don't end up gaining a success that they feel like match with their potential. So what did you do right? That actually did set you up for that.

[00:23:53] That's a really good question. I think when I look back at my career, the thing that's been consistent is I've always had this passion just for creativity and for design and for design thinking. And so every career decision that I've made has always been in pursuit of

[00:24:09] working with great creative people, great creative teams and great creative companies. And I've always just kind of felt entrusted in myself that if you were surround yourself with kind people and talented people, and you feel like something exciting is going to happen, then you're on the right path.

[00:24:27] And so I think if there's any conscious decision, I made it was just to make sure that I was around the kind of people that I wanted to be around around other creative people and doing something that I felt was first and

[00:24:39] foremost, kind of fulfilling and exciting for myself. Yeah. And was there a point you think early in your career when you knew that you did know design, which gave you conviction that was something that you were good at?

[00:24:50] Do you remember a moment or was it just saying that slowly happened over time where you became an expert in that, in that area? That's funny. Ever since I was 12 years old in sixth grade, I wanted to be a graphic

[00:25:00] designer and it was really focused on it and like looked at all the design schools and stuff all the way through junior high school and high school and ended up going to a non art school because that's the only goal that I could afford at the time.

[00:25:15] But I think I always love design and I always loved creativity, but I knew that as a graphic designer, my skills can only take me so far. I knew I was pretty good, but not great.

[00:25:26] And so I think there was the trend throughout my career of a graphic designer into other things. I just realized that, Hey, maybe there's something more to creativity and design than actually typography and things on paper. Maybe that can apply, be applied to something else.

[00:25:44] And so I think that's kind of how my thinking evolved. Absolutely. What's been great to see. And obviously you are applying it to much bigger things, including the campaign that we just talked about. So really appreciative.

[00:25:55] Finally, here, is there a quote or mantra that comes to mind that you like to live by, which is what we always ask our guests to wrap up on podcasts? I guess the mantra that I've always tried to live by is just this concept of beginner's mind.

[00:26:07] This idea of always trying to take a look at something as if you've never seen it before, or you're seeing it for the first time. I think when it comes to, especially for, you know, if you're doing something that you're in a profession where you have to present

[00:26:18] something to someone else, or there's a customer at the other end that has to try and understand what you're saying. Just this idea of looking at the world and looking at every day and the work you do outside of yourself with a beginner's mind, unencumbered by

[00:26:33] everything you know, stripped of all your own biases and try to see it as fresh and cleanly as possible. That's always kind of helped me in all the projects that I've worked on. Yeah. Keeps the curiosity too, right? Beginner's mind is you're curious and you're entering everything

[00:26:47] with kind of like this open-mindedness and imagination. Yeah. And it's like the simplest concept, but it's the hardest thing in the world to do. But I think that's been the one thing that's probably stuck with me. Awesome. Well, listen, thank you so much for joining.

[00:27:02] I'm a huge fan of you and the Airbnb brand, and I'm excited to see you roll out this next creative campaign and everything else that comes afterwards. I really appreciate the time and I can't wait for our listeners to hear about your journey. Thanks, Matt.

[00:27:13] Thanks for having me. Absolutely. On behalf of Susie, AdWee team, thanks again to Hiroki Asai, the global head of marketing at Airbnb for joining us today. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review the Speed of Culture podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Until next time, see you soon.

[00:27:26] Take care. The Speed of Culture is brought to you by Susie as part of the AdWeeK podcast network and ATS creator network. You can listen, subscribe to all AdWeeK's podcasts by visiting adweek.com slash podcasts. To find out more about Susie, head to susie.com and make sure

[00:27:47] to search for the Speed of Culture in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google podcasts or anywhere else podcasts are found. Click follow so you don't miss out on any future episodes. On behalf of the team here at Susie, thanks for listening.