Airbnb is now offering stays at the X-Men mansion, Ferrari Museum and other iconic venues

Building on the success of recent high-profile offerings of iconic venues such as Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood house, Ken’s Barbie Dreamhouse, and Shrek’s swamp as vacation rentals, Airbnb is rolling out a new category. Called “Icons,” the experiential product invites customers to stay at the homes of celebrities or well-known fictional places. The category involves partnerships with the likes of Disney and Ferrari. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here The objective of the new offering is to “open up people’s worlds,” a mission that goes back to Airbnb’s original purpose when it was founded in 2007, according to Hiroki Asai, global head of marketing. He noted that last year’s collection of iconic experiences, including the Ken Dreamhouse, resulted in 4.7 million views on the site. “A lot of our partners have these cult followings—these incredibly passionate audiences—and what we can offer them is a much larger global audience to a really specific set of people,” said Asai. “What’s interesting to [the partners] is that on our platform, we can help them bring their world to life so fans can participate.” Step into your imagination. Introducing Icons pic.twitter.com/KOpkZ91UbT— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) May 1, 2024 The category will roll out today with a recreation of the house from Pixar’s “Up.” By October, 11 other venues will drop. They include stays at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy and a recreation of the X-Men mansion in Westchester, New York. The experiences also include time at Kevin Hart’s Coramino Live Lounge and a living room performance with Doja Cat. Unlike regular Airbnb stays, the majority of the Icon experiences are free—all others cost below $100 per person. When each offering becomes available, consumers must request a booking through the Airbnb app and write a few sentences about why they want the experience. A third-party vendor will then randomly select entries and guests, Asai said. Those chosen will receive what the brand calls a “digital golden ticket,” taking a page from another iconic story (though Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is not available.) Airbnb expects to dole out more than 4,000 tickets this year. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Precise details, such as including Carl’s pill bottles in the “Up” house and matching the red on the bedsheets at the Ferrari Museum to the red upholstery in the brand’s vehicles, will help appeal to fans, Asai said. Even those consumers who are not chosen to attend the experience can still view hundreds of photographs of each listing. The new category may help Airbnb gain brand awareness on a global scale. For example, one offering is an overnight visit to the home of Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor in Chennai, India. “We’re able to ride culture and able to become relevant on a regular basis and what that leads us to is we’re able to reach a lot more key segments,” Asai said. “It also starts to make people aware that Airbnb is for more than just stay.” To market “Icons,” Airbnb and its brand partners will announce drops on social media and with some influencers. The company is not putting paid media behind the initiative, however. For its most recent quarter, Airbnb generated $2.2 billion in revenue, a 17% rise over the year-earlier period that topped analyst expectations as travel demand continued. Alongside “Icons,” Airbnb also announced new features for group trips, which comprise 80% of the brand’s bookings. The app will now offer the ability to share wishlists for planning and issue trip invitations. Airbnb also debuted a new “Messages” tab for group communication.

Airbnb is now offering stays at the X-Men mansion, Ferrari Museum and other iconic venues

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