It’s no secret that both vacationers and homeowners with spare rooms have fallen in love with Airbnb. However, savvy marketers have also begun to use the ‘home-sharing’ website to their advantage with an ingenious tactic – and it’s probably not the one you think!
While many postings of listings on Airbnb are indeed individuals offering a room in their home, others are regular travellers or multiple home owners offering up their entire house or apartment. Realtors have successfully begun to use the latter as a selling point by highlighting the facts buyers will more quickly paying off their mortgage and having an additional source of revenue by posting the home on Airbnb after purchasing it. However, the tactic we’re discussing today is an even more direct way to use the ‘home-sharing’ service as a marketing tool. To truly sell buyers on a space, a Realtor can now take the unprecedented step of promoting and having interested parties ‘test-drive’ the listing through Airbnb.
Airbnb’s Promotional Power
Naturally, we’re not able to create a ‘For Sale’ listing on Airbnb itself – and that’s okay, because we’re not attempting to use it as a conventional listing site. Rather, we can link to the Airbnb page (which will subtly mention the house is also for sale) from our regular listings, with the added bonus of the posting showing up in related searches and being visible to virtual ‘walk-ins’ not actively searching, but open to the idea of buying. Its design makes it an excellent promotional tool – the buyer can see additional pictures of the house, learn more about the neighborhood and even see glowing reviews of the space from those who have tried it out previously. Another advantage is Airbnb’s more relaxed feel, which may motivate a casual buyer, or capture attention from someone who is intimidated by conventional real estate listings. Real estate decisions are often based on emotion, and falling in love with a property on Airbnb is common.
The Airbnb ‘Test Drive’
Allowing potential buyers to experience the space first hand, however, is the real game changer here. An open house gives home seekers a visual idea of the property, but simply can’t communicate the ‘feel’ of what living in the space would be like. Facilitating a short-term stay via Airbnb allows us to use that very powerful tool. A buyer can see a living room with expansive bay windows during a visit, but waking up and walking into it as the morning sun as it shines through surrounding trees is a far more enticing experience. The usefulness of this strategy goes beyond the house itself. During their stay, buyers can explore the neighborhood and its surroundings. They can get a feel of what it’ll be like to live in the area, and take a mental note of all the close by amenities as well as proximity to work, schools, etc. This means that when the actual home can’t be used, utilising a similar listing in the immediate neighborhood is still quite effective. While all these things make our job of selling the home to the buyer easier, the biggest motivator toward a sale may be a subconscious one. During their stay, prospective buyers will form a connection with the space and neighborhood – one they will not have with other housing options they’ve looked at. By making sure the listing is right for them and ensuring they have a good experience, you’ll likely find them quickly leaning towards that Airbnb promoted space. It’s clear that forward-thinking Realtors should consider using Airbnb as part of their multi-faceted marketing campaign!
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