The holidays are by far the busiest time of the year for hotels around the world and with the rise of popularity around online rental marketplaces, companies like Airbnb and HomeAway are now just as popular, if not more popular than hotels. Since the holidays are such a considerable time of year for these brands, we decided to use our audience insights tool, Profiler, to take a look at who was actually booking these services.

By using Profiler’s mass intelligence about various audiences from social data, we were able to conduct a comparative analysis on both Airbnb and HomeAway audiences focusing on regions, media types, and brands. These vacation rental consumer insights can help companies like Airbnb and HomeAway find valuable information about their core target customers.

Regions

Traveling for the holidays was on the rise this year. Both Airbnb and HomeAway targeted different geographic areas to muster advancement in the online rental marketplace. Profiler analyzed the audiences that had the highest affinity for each state. As we pulled vacation rental consumer insights for Airbnb’s audience, we noticed that they were predominantly in California, New York, and Washington. In comparison, the apical affinity for HomeAway audience was Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Profiler also detected Airbnb and HomeAway state’s market opportunity. The report displays that Airbnb can advance their service in Utah and Nevada; HomeAway can progress their service in Georgia and Michigan.

Favorite Media

When examining the vacation rental consumer insights, we noticed key differences in their media habits. The Airbnb’s audience shows interest in Architectural Digest and BuzzFeed which can indicate that they have a DIY persona and are interested in home projects such as interior design. In addition, they read Forbes and turn to Yelp for suggestions. This reveals their potential concerns regarding local businesses and innovation.

The HomeAway’s audience shows attentiveness for Better Home & Gardens, Mashable, and Vibe Magazine which infers they’re engrossed in decorating ideas, American music, and entertainment. Profiler also concluded their preference for the television station: The Hallmark Channel. This surmises that they enjoy biographical films and documentaries. While the audience’s media inclinations differ, they both watch HGTV, which signifies their excitement for inspiration, remodeling, home decor, and entertaining ideas.

Favorite Brands

The Airbnb and HomeAway audiences have different predilections when it comes to their favorite brands. According to the vacation rental consumer insights we pulled by using Profiler, the affinity level from 3M is most popular amongst Airbnb’s audience. This indicates that they enjoy taking part in home and work projects. Profiler also uncovered their preferences for Lululemon Athletica, Nordstrom, J.Crew, and Urban Decay which deduces they enjoy finer, luxury products. The HomeAway’s audience likes Belk, an American department store, along with Fabletics, and Bed Bath & Beyond. This suggests that they are more of a modest shopper than Airbnb’s audience, however, they are both common in the sense where they are physically active and are interested in DIY projects.

Audience insights tools like Profiler are crucial for companies that want to gain deep insights about their various audiences. To learn more about our audience insights tool, Profiler and to see how it could benefit your company, request a demo.