MN4057 Digital Business Report: Analysis of AirBnB's Business Strategy

This report delves into AirBnB's e-business model, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses as an online platform connecting hosts and guests. It examines AirBnB's competitive and digital business strategy, focusing on its use of social media and review systems to differentiate itself. The report identifies areas for improvement, particularly in safety and visual content creation, to enhance user experience and sustain competitive advantage. Recommendations include prioritizing user safety and leveraging visual content for enhanced digital marketing. The analysis draws upon academic sources and real-world examples to provide a comprehensive overview of AirBnB's digital business approach. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Digital Report

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Main Body...................................................................................................................................................3
E-Business model that the website pursues along with the strengths and weaknesses.............................3
Competitive and Digital business strategy of AirBnB.............................................................................4
References...................................................................................................................................................5

Introduction
In current time E-business has become a crucial aspect of business which is related with
using e-commerce platform to exchange the necessary piece of information (Patel, Goyal and
Agarwal, 2018). For the present report AirBnB is taken into consideration. The present study
will comprise E-business model, competitive and digital business strategy of the company.
Further, digital marketing strategies, web marketing intelligence platform , E-CRM, security
measures of the company will also discuss in the given assignment.
Main Body
E-Business model that the website pursues along with the strengths and weaknesses
Online or E-business is a type of business wherein information is shared across the internet. In
simple words, it refers to conduct the business using online mediums. Here, the buyers and
sellers are likely to interact through online platform (Zhang and Wen, 2017).
AirBnB is an online platform which allows the sellers to post the product on the website
from where buyers can select the necessary products as per their needs and requirements. Here,
AirBnB acts as a middle man and earn significant amount of profit from both side. This e-
commerce business model has proved highly beneficial for the respective company as there is
opportunity to grow exponentially with limited amount of investment.
Strengths:
 The website of AirBnB is well-designed and functional which reflects the rentals listed
by the sellers in an efficient manner.
 The interface of the website of the respective company is easy thus the seller and buyer
both can found the necessary features easily (Singh, Kaur and Singh, 2018).
Weaknesses:
 The e-commerce website of the company is considered as less reliable and secure. It has
been accused of paying less or no attention towards the safety of users.

 Sometimes, the server of the website does not work efficiently hence the users have to
face issues.
Competitive and Digital business strategy of AirBnB
The AirBnB provides opportunity to guests to book the rental place which best suits with
their requirements. The review system of the company also sets it apart from the competitors as
both the guest and host gain confidence by going through with the positive reviews (Srnicek,
2017).
In case of AirBnB, they are using different social media platforms such as Face book,
Instagram and more to stay connected with the audience. In this context, the company asks the
users to share their experience on the social media platforms. As a result, there are nearly 1.8
million photos on Instagram using # airbnb (Social media highlight:Airbnb-Stunning Strategy,
2018). The significant social media presence will allow the entity to sustain in the competitive
world.
Recommendations:
 It is analyzed that the company is required to focus on the safety feature. Being an online
service provider, they are lacking in terms of safety. Hence, the company is required to
ensure safe and secure journey to the guest who are using AirBnB platform in order to
make the bookings.
 In terms of digital strategy, they are likely to post visual contents like videos, graphics in
order to interact with the buyers efficiently. It will help the entity to grow and sustain in
the competitive market for longer duration.

References
Books and journals
Patel, D., Goyal, S. and Agarwal, R., 2018. E-Commerce Business Model. In Improving E-
Commerce Web Applications Through Business Intelligence Techniques (pp. 110-129).
IGI Global.
Zhang, Y. and Wen, J., 2017. The IoT electric business model: Using blockchain technology for
the internet of things. Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications, 10(4), pp.983-994.
Singh, G., Kaur, H. and Singh, A., 2018, August. Dropshipping in e-commerce: a perspective.
In Proceedings of the 2018 9th International Conference on E-business, Management
and Economics (pp. 7-14).
Srnicek, N., 2017. The challenges of platform capitalism: Understanding the logic of a new
business model. Juncture, 23(4), pp.254-257.
Online
Social media highlight:Airbnb-Stunning Strategy, 2018.[Online].Avaliable through:<
https://www.stunningstrategy.com/>