AirBnB Gets Major Press from Conan O’Brien

AirBnB has been moving up in the the ranks of vacation rental sites lately. Recently, they had a great promo opportunity through the Conan O’Brien show. In a stroke of guerilla marketing genius, AirBnB got Team Coco to list the Conan O’Brien TV studio as a place to stay on AirBnB. No specific product placement or commercials, just an awesome, all encopassing product plug, endorsement, and extended, multi-night demonstration. Who could ask for anything better?


Here’s the listing:

Cozy and charming “Conan” television studio located in the heart of Burbank, CA, only a short walk to the set of “Gilmore Girls” and Warner Bros commissary. Historic building where “Goonies” was filmed. Currently used to film “Conan” television program.

Sleeping accommodations include a celebrity-grazed sleeper sofa and additional air mattress (needs repair). Linens provided, but recommend bringing your own for undisclosed reasons. Great for families (children 16+) looking to relax in over 25,000 square feet of musty warehouse space. Includes use of 40 ton industrial air conditioning system, 25 LCD television monitors (no HBO), and fully stocked kitchenette with intern. Shower must be shared with guest bands. Free Wi-Fi.

Did AirBnB pay the Conan show for this incredible opportunity? I don’t know. But surely some brilliant marketing minds were at work in getting this whole production together.

Blog “Five Blogs Before Lunch” is similarly skeptical about the exact promotional arrangement.

Be sure to check out AirBnB’s Blog Post, and the intro to the stunt on Team Coco’s site.

Finally, it’s also worth noting that the Conan listing on AirBnB includes a VIDEO tab in the listing. This is a feature that as of yet has gone unseen on AirBnB – and it looks like they’re rolling it out only for this Conan listing. How long until everybody gets to add video?  Currently the use of video is limited to a users profile, and there’s no way to add video to a listing page. Not even the listing page for the Mushroom Dome Cabin, one of the most popular AirBnB listings, has video yet.

I’ve previously written about AirBnB: