Brand USA and Airbnb announced a new partnership designed to allow guests to explore the USA from the comfort of home through Online Experiences featuring the unique cultures, cuisines, and people from across the United States.
Along with a new landing page highlighting a special collection of Airbnb Online Experiences that showcase the unique possibilities of the United States, Brand USA also introduced five Online Experiences. These Online Experiences hosted by storytellers from United Stories—a Brand USA campaign launched in early 2019 as an open invitation for travelers to visit the USA, experience the warmth of the American people, and engage with the vast diversity of U.S. destinations—range from culinary traditions of the South to the art of spoken word poetry.
“Airbnb Online Experiences gives us a new platform to share
warm and welcoming stories about U.S. destinations. As the world longs to
travel again, we are delighted to help travelers understand places more deeply,
meet real people, and uncover local perspectives to activate their wanderlust,”
says Tom Garzilli, chief marketing officer, Brand USA. “It’s a fun and safe way
to showcase what makes this country unique and invite international travelers
to virtually experience our people and destinations first-hand.”
Created at the start of the pandemic as a way to allow
people to connect, travel virtually and earn income from home, Airbnb Online
Experiences are unique, handcrafted activities that immerse guests into each
host’s unique world. Hosts include small business owners, entrepreneurs, and
creatives who want to connect with travelers and introduce them to their
community.
“As those of us in travel and tourism look to support
the nation’s economic recovery, we are as proud as we are privileged to be
partnering with Brand USA to make it possible for people all over the world to
virtually visit the United States via Airbnb’s Online Experiences. These Online
Experiences will help virtual visitors experience the incredible natural beauty
of our lands, the cultural mosaic that makes America so special and, our
greatest natural resource of all, our people. Over the years, millions of
people across the globe have visited the U.S. and connected with our country by
being welcomed into the homes of our incredible community of Home hosts. In
this moment we are in, where there are challenges to cross-border travel, this
initiative will allow Airbnb hosts to open their virtual doors for people to
experience the U.S. Our hope is that these Online Experiences will facilitate
deeper connections between hosts and guests and encourage a future in real life
trip,” said Chris Lehane, senior vice president for global public policy
and communications at Airbnb.
Featured Brand USA storytellers include: Nature, Entertainment/Nightlife,
Culinary, Art and Spoken Word.
