The "stories" format has already spread past Snapchat and Instagram and has now officially launched as Airbnb Travel Stories. The new feature will function like many other story systems but will have a bit more structure when compared to similar features. Users looking to share videos of their adventures will be allowed to upload multiple videos onto the Travel Stories feature, with a limit of 10 videos. Users can then tag the location they took the video in, add a caption explaining the video and give location tips to future travelers.
Stories will be published on the Airbnb app and will serve to showcase destinations to future travelers or ones that are nearby to one's location. This new Travel Stories feature is part of Airbnb's plan to become more of a socially driven travel agency, rather than a simple rental booking service.
Image Credit: Airbnb
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Social Travel
- Disruptive innovation possibilities include developing a social travel network through user-generated Travel Stories to connect Airbnb users worldwide.
- User-generated Content
- Innovative opportunities abound in creating platforms for content sharing by users and incentivizing homemade videos of travel experiences for engagement and user traffic.
- Visual Storytelling
- Developing innovative ideas for atmospheric, interactive video stories that showcase the Airbnb community and network of global destinations through immersive user experiences.
Where This Applies
- Hospitality
- The innovation opportunity for the hospitality industry is leveraging user-generated videos to showcase their unique travel experiences and locations for Airbnb's target audience.
- Travel
- Airbnb's Travel Stories will not only provide inspiration and information to future travelers, but could also disrupt the traditional tourist media industry as users continue to share their unique travel experiences.
- Social Media
- The innovation potential for the social media industry lies in creating new interactive multimedia platforms for users to share their experiences through travel content in unique and personalized ways.
