Why Airbnb is a really cool, good name

Travel brand naming services I am not so sure about the logo, but for a service that thrives so much on word of mouth and word of mouse, not to mention publicity to spread the brand name, who cares.

But for those of you who just don’t get why interesting, different, creative names are so powerful, see how good the name Airbnb is when you compare it with their mostly pedantic competitors:

9 Flats

Couch Surfing

Home Away

HouseTrip

VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner)

Roomarama

Wimdu

Sublet

EvergreenClub

OneFineStay

HouseTrip

OneFineStay

If I was to make an emotionless analysis of the Airbnb name, then I could argue it sounds like the name of business class in some exotic airline. Even Google Ads gets confused and pops up lots of other “air” ads – even though the business has nothing to do with airlines or air anything per se. Plus I am sure people using this service are not usually looking for a Bed and Breakfast (BnB) place.

Try a search for a  B&B and Airbnb doesn’t even come up. But call your friend in New York and ask where can you stay that is affordable – and expect they will respond with Airbnb, as happened to me. I felt like such a clutz for not thinking of that and not realizing Airbnb had now gone mainstream.

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Domain Names, Name Origins, Trademarks

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See his industry naming commentary (where he takes a critical look at names) via the blog on this site