The agreement has caused complications in Paris, which will serve as host for the 2024 Games.Getty images
Airbnb’s global Olympics sponsorship stands out for both its creative inclusion of athletes and its unique potential to create political strife, sports industry experts said.
As part of its deal, Airbnb will launch “Airbnb Olympian Experiences,” a website where users can buy access to training days with Olympians, tours of competition cities with athletes, or any other activity Olympians might be willing to share with paying customers.
Custom experiences are a major component of traditional Olympic sponsorships, usually given to sweepstakes winners or corporate guests. But this is believed to be the first program that would connect fans to athletes directly.
“I think this is the most interesting new territory that’s been created around the Olympics since P&G created Proud Sponsor of Mom,” said Tim Crow, a veteran British sports marketing adviser.
Michael Lynch, former Visa sports marketer and co-founder of 3 Emerald Marketing, said it democratizes one of the most in-demand products sponsors offer. It’s also a revenue stream for athletes with potentially little disruption.
“That’s a cool concept,” Lynch said. “If an athlete wants to do a clinic for a family that wants to go there, or show them around, that’s tremendous added value. I love it.”
Other sponsors will be allowed to continue their custom experiences, an IOC spokesman said. Airbnb has exclusive rights to offer direct-to-athlete deals on a dedicated platform. One TOP sponsor executive said his company may consider using the Airbnb platform to facilitate their events.
Details that may determine how feasible it is for athletes to participate, and how much money they could make from hosting experiences, are still forthcoming. The Olympics’ athlete portal now reads, “No matter where you are in your Olympic journey, you can turn your passion into profit by becoming a host on Airbnb Experiences.”
Rob Koehler, director general of the advocacy group Global Athlete, downplayed the revenue-generating potential of the Airbnb experiences concept. While it may help on the margins, the inequitable distribution of the nine-figure Airbnb rights fee remains the primary problem, he said.
The home-sharing side of the Airbnb deal has already created political problems, though — namely in Paris, home to the 2024 Games.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo told IOC President Thomas Bach of the “risks” of the deal, noting her “total determination” to regulate or even ban Airbnb in the city. Two days later, the city’s hotel industry threatened to cease cooperation with Paris 2024 over the deal. Research suggests Airbnb warps the housing market by charging daily rates for units designed to be occupied full-time, and the traditional hotel industry — still critical to any Games organizing committee — resents the lack of regulation their new competitor enjoys. Expect Airbnb’s critics to make this an issue in other Olympic host cities, including Tokyo and Los Angeles.
