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Just received the premier issue of airbnbmag comliments of Airbnb. Published by Airbnb it’s about 144 pages. They are asking $15 for a 6 issue subscription.
Content is what you might expect. A little for everyone. Featured destinations, host tips, etc. A lot of advertising.
And hosts are expected to pay for this because ???
Additional US$21 for shipping outside the US
I don’t think I would like to pay US$ 36 for 6 issues. What a pity Airbnb aren’t using their worldwide network of local offices to make this available at a more affordable rate, for people in my country (Germany, but this applies to just about every country outside the US).
Good question. And why a paper based magazine?
I haven’t gone through it so I don’t know what the value might be.
That would quickly end up in the recycle bin for me…
Didn’t get it, @duanemitchell where are you from? Wondering if it is a limited distribution to try it out.
I’m in Boston, MA USA.
Sounds interesting. Do you think the target market are hosts or guests?
And I agree with others that an online version would be nice.
I say mostly targeted to guests and promotes the Airbnb brand. The more I look at it the more I think it might be a clever way to promote the Airbnb style of travel. It features interesting locations. I think the point is to give guests ideas that they may not have ever considered. It’s strong on promoting the local knowledge a guest will benefit from when staying with an Airbnb host. Compared to a hotel that is. I think it would be good to leave hanging around for guests to browse. Maybe if we all did it Airbnb bookings would increase and that would be good for us. I haven’t come to a conclusion on it yet. Not suggesting it’s a good thing.
I think it’s a pretty clever idea, actually, but AirBnB would be smarter to give them to hosts to leave as guest reading material rather than expect us to pay for their marketing materials.
Yeah… I got the email and the flyer in the mail… In these electronic times, a new paper-based magazine seems doomed to fail, especially if they expect us to pay for it. IMHO it should be sent to us free, with a note asking us to leave it where gusts can see it. It would be less expensive and more liable to be read if they sent an electronic magazine available for Kindle, Nook and as a PDF.
Having been part of the magazine world decades ago, I have a rough idea just how expensive a 144 page magazine is to print and distribute!
Having used a CompuServe email address for about 23 years now, I still remember the old CompuServe magazine that was sent to CompuServe members, worldwide, back in the 1990s, at no extra charge. It was great to receive that one, free from the US every month, even if, as you might remember, CompuServe itself was in fact an online service.
Anyone notice a notable absence of older folks in this magazine?
i read it like 2 months ago in San Francisco and was quite disappointed, not really any interesting or helpful content, more like traveler’s magazine with tips where to go and what to see.
I bought two copies at the newsstand (because I am a sucker for print) and put a copy on the coffee table in the unit. I half expected it to be swiped by someone thinking it was complimentary, but judging by the rings on it, it seems to mostly get used as a coaster.
Yea…mostly 30 and 40 somethings who like to escape.
Brian Chesky has a pretty good intro to the magazine. He suggests that Airbnb travel is for those who want to “live like a local than travel like a tourist.” I have a good friend who has been all over the world with Airbnb just for that reason. I wish I could find a pdf version of the magazine so I could quote some things.
I suppose this is about branding and keeping the brand in front of people. Especially those who are using the platform at the time they see the magazine. Like our guests.
I received a copy, too. It was a nice mix of content. Not sold on paying for a subscription yet, but I left it in my guests’ space with a sheet to mark whether they thought it was worth getting or not.
I agree with those who said it should be complementary as marketing piece. Guests and I paid Air about $4k to move money from their pocket to mine last year, seems we could get a complimentary magazine out of that. 
There’s no way I’m paying for a subscription. When I met my husband he told me that he doesn’t wear shirts, hats, etc. that advertise a brand because, “I expect to be paid to advertise for a company, not to pay them.” I’ve adopted his view on this matter.
I reviewed the magazine, and it looks to me to be strongly focused on the guests, with just a tiny touch of content for hosts. There’s a lot of content about travel, and it highlights a single photo free three different listings, including shopping information for home decor, but not much at all geared specifically towards hosting.
I was pleasantly surprised to see they used a quote I gave them about providing a few different types of pillows, but that was one of only three comments geared towards hosts. You can see the entire Host Hacks “article” online here:
https://airbnbmag.com/articles/host_hacks.html