Airbnb | 2017
Airbnb #weaccept
Helped lead Airbnb's
87M+
Earned Impressions
19M
Facebook Video Views
15.4K
Volunteer Host Signups
33K+
Super Bowl Tweets
Role
Community Marketing Lead
Channels
Overview
At Airbnb, I helped lead community-facing work around the brand’s #weaccept campaign — a moment that translated Airbnb’s belonging mission into a clear public statement during the 2017 U.S. travel ban. The campaign connected national brand storytelling, social conversation, and local market activation to reinforce that inclusion was not just a value statement, but a community commitment.
Campaign Components
The campaign was anchored by a national video spot and a broader brand platform that carried the message of acceptance across paid and owned media. Airbnb also used the campaign to spotlight tangible action, including a pledge to provide housing for 100,000 people in need and financial support for refugee relief efforts.
As part of Airbnb’s community marketing efforts, I helped connect that national message to neighborhood-level activation. One example was Airbnb’s Oakland host community merchant walk in Fruitvale, where hosts visited six local small businesses and learned firsthand how guest spending and host recommendations could support neighborhood commerce. That kind of programming turned the broader belonging platform into a real local economic story rather than a one-time brand statement.
The campaign also extended across Airbnb-owned channels and social amplification, with the video, portraits, testimonials, and founder messaging all working together to sustain momentum after launch. This integrated approach helped ensure that the campaign resonated both culturally and operationally — inside the Airbnb community and in the broader public conversation.
Results
According to Airbnb’s campaign write-up and reporting, #weaccept became one of the company’s most significant earned-media moments, generating more than 87 million earned impressions, 33,000+ tweets during the first half of the Super Bowl, 19 million Facebook video views, and 15,400 volunteer host signups.
For me, this campaign demonstrated how brand marketing and community work can reinforce one another when the message is authentic, timely, and supported by real-world activation. It remains one of the clearest examples from my Airbnb experience of how local engagement can strengthen a nationally visible campaign.