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Airbnb earned a win in a spat with its much smaller short-term rental rival Vrbo on Tuesday when the National Advertising Division recommended Vrbo stop or change some of its advertising claims that seem to poke at Airbnb.
The BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division found that Vrbo was making claims in advertising that conveyed “the unsupported message that Airbnb properties always have hosts that cohabitate with guests during their stay.”
The win highlighted the companies’ focus on marketing techniques to win traveler attention from competing short-term rental companies and the broader hotel industry.
The complaint is what is known as a “Fast-Track SWIFT” challenge, or one that is made to the BBB National Programs, an independent nonprofit organization that monitors disputes among companies.
Airbnb’s challenge highlighted a Vrbo Super Bowl commercial that featured former college and professional football coach Nick Saban, along with two billboard ads.
Late last year, Vrbo released a commercial that portrayed Saban as a strict host at a short-term rental, one who made sure guests knew about the “no games, no fun” policies, and who shared the hot tub with his guests.
“When other vacation rentals make you share your turf with a host, try one you have all to yourself,” the narrator says.
The ad seemed to poke at Airbnb, which got its start when CEO Brian Chesky and two other co-founders shared space in their San Francisco apartment to test the concept of what is now a behemoth with a $77 billion market cap.
Airbnb still offers experiences that include having hosts on site, along with options where no host is present. Vrbo, meanwhile, doesn’t have shared space as an option.
“Because Airbnb does offer ‘host-free’ rental options, NAD concluded that the message is unsupported and recommended that Vrbo discontinue the challenged ‘host-free’ claim or modify it to avoid conveying the message that competitors such as Airbnb always have hosts that cohabitate with guests during their stay,” the NAD said.
Vrbo also booked a handful of high-profile billboards that conveyed a similar message, including one near Airbnb’s San Francisco headquarters.
Chesky initially laughed off the billboard, but the company ultimately responded before contacting the NAD.
“Vrbo just spent millions on ads that appear to be as confused as they are desperate, even giving Airbnb more visibility than their own name,” an Airbnb spokesperson told Skift last month. “As a platform built on supporting hosts, we’ll continue investing in our community.”
Skift, a news outlet that focuses on the travel industry and short-term rentals, estimated that Airbnb had a 44 percent market share in the space last year. That’s nearly five times larger than Vrbo, according to Skift.
Vrbo agreed to make changes to its advertising based on NAD’s recommendations, according to the National Advertising Division.
