Smart play by Airbnb. Like a tradition hotel chain, they have thousands of locations around the world to distribute their magazine to their end customers to upsell Airbnb Experiences and (hopefully) help people have a more enjoyable trip.
Am I the only one that doesn't get this at all? Does anyone really have magazine subscriptions anymore? Not sure this is where I would have invested resources.
@andrewplittle actually, with the recent fake-news hysteria subscription numbers went up again for a lot of traditional newspapers. Also Sales for printed books are going up. There seems to be kind of a print-revive, at least for stuff that is well designed.
I have seen success with really niche travel publications. It sounds counter-intuitive, but having a smaller reach to a super defined audience (like Airbnb travelers) is better than buckshotting to a larger one. There are a few small travel publications that are doing really well right now.
@andrewplittle Independent publishing has seen an enormous resurgence, beginning in the early 2000s and accelerating through to today. Magazines like O32c, Apartamento, Gather, Johnson, Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman, etc. have made a significant cultural impact and have reshaped the magazine landscape from the boring commercial and mass market titles that have traditionally dominated.
There's definitely a place for a niche travel magazine in the market. Ultimately, Airbnb is most likely leveraging this to promote the value they create for their hosts and by association - the cities they live in. The more propaganda in the market - the better ;)
@jgebbia This is amazing! Love this and is exactly why my team and I set out to build Pinguin. Would love to chat with you about how we feel Pinguin + AirBnB could be an amazing partnership and lead to even better stories around travel, community, and coming together as people are intended to do.
Congrats on this beautifully done mag! Will be checking it out! 😄
Let me know if we can schedule a chat. Even if for 5 min.
Cheers,
Josh
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