Objective: Our objective was to launch an audacious social experiment to rid the world of strangers. At Airbnb, we aspire to create a world where people Belong Anywhere; the primary barrier we face to achieving this is strangers. Strangers disrupt feelings of acceptance and are the enemy of belonging.
Strategy: What happens when Airbnb invests and entrusts the community to unlock the creative power of human hospitality to change the world? To entrust our community to help rid the world of strangers. Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO, gifted one million dollars to 100,000 people in the Airbnb community, ten dollars at a time. He urged them to put this donation towards committing an act of hospitality for a stranger, document it, and upload it to social media with the hashtag #OneLessStranger.
Then Airbnb urged the world to join in.
Outcome: As of January 27th, 3 weeks after the launch of the campaign, over 3,000,000 people around the world engaged, created #OneLessStranger content or were talking about the campaign.
In an effort to bring the world together and create a sense of belonging no matter where you are, we embarked on an audacious journey. We put our trust in the power of our community and activated a pay-it-forward approach to inspire participation.
The campaign was enthusiastically received globally and passed forward on social media around the world. The stream of overwhelming hospitality was aggregated directly into airbnb.com/one-less-stranger. Additionally, to further integrate digitally, we utilized a beautifully designed real-time map on airbnb.com/map to showcase One Less Stranger moments around the world!
Social media was the only driving factor – a powerful testament of our community's engagement and their will to do good.
Our community also had positive feedback on the social power of the campaign:
Rebecca said: "Love this! The idea of doing something kind for strangers with no ulterior motive (other than to feel good!) is a beautiful act that truly can change worlds. I've come to believe, especially when we're going through rough times, kindness is what really matters. "
Raquel said: "This is how we work to make the world a better place. one person at a time! :) "
Paul said: "I continue to be in awe of Airbnb - harnessing technology not only to bring need ( accommodation ) to availability (hosts) but really also helping to flatten the world, one booking at a time. Brian, the #onelessstranger is intriguing , I am in! "
