In the competitive Chinese market, Airbnb faced challenges in successfully establishing its brand and conveying its travel philosophy to local consumers. Labbrand, leveraging its expertise in Chinese brand name creation and visual identity, collaborated with Airbnb branding to create a new Chinese name, 爱彼迎 [ài bǐ yíng], and integrate it into the brand signature. This localization effort aimed to align Airbnb’s brand meaning with Chinese culture while staying true to its global identity.

Challenge

Although Airbnb has been since 2008 one of the most disruptive travel brands at global scale, they still faced significant challenges when it comes to succeed in the competitive domestic market. Airbnb faced the challenge of creating a brand name and visual identity that would not only convey their brand meaning in Chinese but also reflect their evolution as a brand. They also needed to consider the cultural nuances and preferences of Chinese consumers.

Solution

Working closely with San Francisco and China teams, we embarked on finding a Chinese brand name that could communicate Airbnb’s philosophy while allowing the brand to grow beyond home sharing. We kicked off the creative process by aligning on the strategic and creative implications of the Chinese brand name creation, as well as the key criteria to evaluate all name creations.

Meaning “Welcome Each Other with Love”, the chosen brand name 爱彼迎 [ài bǐ yíng] perfectly conveys Airbnb’s unique brand vision.These three characters symbolize love (爱), people (彼) and places (迎), and when combined deliver the essence of the brand. On both a language and conceptual level, it aims to express “belonging” in a human, warm tone to Chinese travelers.

Results

The creation of a new Chinese name and visual identity successfully conveyed Airbnb branding meaning in Chinese, surpassing the limitations of the original English brand name. While the English name, “Airbnb,” holds historical significance as “airbed and breakfast,” it didn’t fully represent the brand’s evolution and offerings. The new Chinese name, “爱彼迎 [ài bǐ yíng],” not only marked Airbnb’s confident expansion into the Chinese market but also signified a meaningful evolution of the brand globally.

Airbnb China’s new identity represented a clear branding evolution, highlighting the brand’s expansion into the Chinese market and its commitment to a new travel philosophy beyond home sharing—one that prioritizes local realities and a sense of belonging.