Airbnb releases videos to teach Asian users how to use Airbnb
Jenny Miller
| special for Paste BN
My mother is quite possibly the world's least tech-savvy person — she still has a flip phone she only turns on for special occasions. Yet, somehow even she recently figured out how to book her first Airbnb vacation rental (though she definitely still couldn't tell you how to download the app, or explain what an app is).
Airbnb used to make videos to help educate people like my mother, but since the company is in the news everyotherdayorso, Airbnb execs seem to have rightfully assumed that most of the Western world knows what Airbnb is by now, even if they still have flip phones.
Yet, apparently the Asian market still seems to need a little help. As
Skift reports, Airbnb has released a new video series targeting the Asia-Pacific market with five basic "How-to" topics. A young Asian woman is shown exploring various aspects of the site, including how to search, how to create a wish list, how to contact your host, etc.
One might think these things are obvious. Yet, the topics in question are apparently the five most popular user inquiries, so the videos could help Airbnb cut down on customer service time—not to mention preserve the sanity of employees who are probably a liiiiittle bit tired of answering the same five questions over and over. For some (problem) customers, the videos pop up on landing pages or on the site's right-hand column, Airbnb's social media director explained.
If you have a really boring desk job, you could give these a watch and maybe learn something new. But I'd say you're better off just having another chuckle over that
"Airbnb Express" video about rifling through strangers' stuff.
Jenny Miller is a freelance travel and food writer based in New York City. Read more of her work at jennymiller.org and keep up with her travels on Instagram and Twitter.
