Matteo Gamba

What do an IKEA store, a KLM airplane, Warren Buffett's home place, the Galleries Lafayettes in Paris, the Chenonceau Castle of Catherine de Medici, Gaudí's Casa Batllo, a Waterstone Library, the Sepang International Circuit, the Sydney Cricket Ground and Iniesta's vineyard have in common?

Simple: Airbnb's formidable marketing strategy.

It might not be that obvious, but as part of a wise PR and marketing campaign, over time Airbnb has been publishing on its site a few contests disguised as traditional listings, gathering the interest of its users, but also cleverly creating relevant content that almost any news site loved to write about.

Airbnb, the social travel company that allows anybody to travel the world while staying at someone else's place, is trying out new ways to focus on weekend trips and last-minute bookings to play a more relevant role in this profitable segment of the travel market.

No big announcement has been made yet (it could happen during the next Airbnb Open, just like with the launch of Neighborhoods 2 years ago), but something interesting seems in the process to be launched soon: Weekend Getaways.