Airbnb: A brand or a product category?

Abstract

Airbnb, a peer-to-peer platform connecting guests with short-term accommodation in private housing has afforded entrepreneurs the opportunity to create new economic opportunities for themselves by monetizing a spare room. For many in Kenya, the term Airbnb is used to describe the entire short-term rental industry. Therefore, the study sought to find out from the short-term rental proprietors (i.e., supply-side) their understanding of the term Airbnb. Does it represent a brand or an entire product category? Using snowball sampling, the study interviewed ten (10) short-term rental proprietors in Eldoret, Kenya. This study extends Keller’s customer-based brand equity model to cater for brands that may experience genericization. This is where a brand's name becomes synonymous with a general product or service category it belongs to.