Airbnb is the "community marketplace for unique spaces" that matches property owners who have space to rent with travellers who are looking for an (often cheaper) alternative to a hotel. They've been seeing explosive growth since their inception in 2008 - they currently boast 23 million social connections and actor Ashton Kutcher recently joined the company as strategic advisor. We love that the focus with Airbnb is on the personal connection between guest and host. Airbnb's culture recognizes that rooms and amenities are very important, but so is the human experience of the journey.

While a slightly different business model from that of the traditional hospitality industry (the homeowners have no overhead, staff, or marketing budget), there's a lot that can be learned from their success. Namely: why are they so successful?

Word of Mouth

A lot of the success of Airbnb seems to be attributable to word of mouth, and Airbnb plays to this strength.

On each listing page, Airbnb provides reviews from past guests, and organizes their search results by "recommended" listings. Based on these reviews, some hosts earn the "superhost" badge. The badge serves to let potential guests know that the host is well-liked, trustworthy, and provides excellent hospitality (including limitless city knowledge, arranging for special dietary items or picking guests up from the airport).

Airbnb offers a "social connections" feature that shows you hosts your friends have reviewed, places hosted by your connections, and places hosted by people who share your alma mater.

A series of videos branded "AirTV" features popular properties, hosts and the Airbnb team. This is a great way to show potential guests who they'll be trusting their vacation memories to, and to let them get a better sense of the property and its environs.