This is a material made available after the webinar (in English) with Holly Bland, Social Impact Experiences* Manager Airbnb EMEA, unfolded on 23 of May 2019, for NGO Online: The Digital School for NGOs Romania. The webinar covered: – The history of Airbnb experiences – Social Impact Experiences around the world – Tips on designing a successful experience – How you can leverage the platform for your NGO ------ *Începând de anul acesta, organizațiile nonprofit pot beneficia prin Programul TechSoup de Airbnb Social Impact Experiences, un nou instrument care te ajută să faci fundraising de impact pentru organizația ta, de data aceasta cu o audiență globală prin Airbnb, cea mare mare platformă de home-sharing din lume. Înscrie-te în Programul TechSoup pentru a avea acces la peste 170 de produse software sau servicii cloud și traininguri gratuite despre tehnologie - https://www.techsoup.ro/ --- Școala Digitală pentru ONG-uri este un program anual creat de Asociația Techsoup pentru a ajuta angajați și voluntarii organizațiilor neguvernamentale din România și Republica Moldova să beneficieze de training profesionist și la îndemână online în utilizarea tehnologiei sau soluțiilor online disponibile lor. Mai multe pe https://ongonline.techsoup.ro/

1.
Experience Submission Checklist
You’ve completed your design and you’re now ready to write and submit your experience. This set
of guidelines is meant to make your Social Impact Experience as successful as possible. While
thinking through how to share your experience with the world, try to convey your passion and sell
the idea to potential guests. Ask yourself ‘why would someone want to participate in this
experience?’
As you review the guidelines, double check you’ve merchandised it to the best of your ability by
checking off each section’s checklist. Set aside 45 - 60 minutes to complete everything.
Let’s begin! First, some housekeeping items:
❏ If you haven’t watched this yet, check out this friendly ​product demo​ for a review of all the
sections you’re about to fill in (10 min)
❏ Create a new ​Airbnb account​ for the nonprofit organization. You will want an account
specific to your organization so the login can be shared. The organization’s bank account
details will also be directly connected to this account
✔ The account name is the name of the host
✔ The account email is connected to your organization ​(i.e. sh@nonprofit.org)
❏ Verify the host's identity​ with a government ID and selfie. We do not share this information.
It is purely for trust and safety of the Airbnb community
❏ If you will have more than 1 host for this experience, please fill out ​this form
Now, the fun stuff!
Experience Submission Form
Click here to fill out the ​sections of your experience​. Find some tips below to help along the way.
Category
❏ TechSoup for nonprofit validation​ has been submitted
❏ “Are you hosting on behalf of a nonprofit organization?” box has been checked
❏ You are logged into your organization’s Airbnb account

2.
Title
You have 38 characters to sell the audience on your experience. This is where you should “hook”
the audience into learning more—try to make your title punchy and descriptive. Avoid the use of
words that may not be familiar to others (like an acronym or org name) and explain what the guest
will be doing in an appealing way. Example:
Swim and play with rescued sea lions
Support OARC and Its Animals
Build your title:
❏ Title starts with an action verb
❏ Title is clear and descriptive
❏ Title is eye catching, compelling, funny, or memorable
❏ Use words like: exclusive, hidden, secret
❏ Title is familiar to a broad audience (i.e. does not include unknown terms)
❏ Title stands out from other experiences
Photos
When guests are looking for experiences, photos are one of the first things they notice! Convey
with images the best parts of your experience, and show guests why they want to take it.
Choose your best photos:
❏ Cover photo allows guests to imagine doing this experiences themselves
❏ Cover photo showcases a human element — people, emotions, a person laughing, hands
making something -- as well as some context about the activity and location
❏ At least five photos are added to the gallery to present a full view of the experience
❏ Photos focus on the setting, what guests will do or make, and convey a sense of action
❏ Photos are high-resolution
❏ Captions are added to the photos to tell a more colorful story
❏ Photos do not include nudity, children, posed photos or selfies, black-and-white filters, text
overlay, or collages
See examples on the next page.

3.
Photo is interesting and illustrates the experience
well.
Photo is high quality, but does not show people
and is not unique to the experience.
‘About you’ and ‘About the organization’
These two sections should be separate from each other.
‘About you’ should focus on the host. Tell guests about how you become involved with your
organization or activity and share any relevant background or expertise - awards, recognitions, or
achievements. Guests often connect with the personal story of the host so feel free to convey your
passion!
‘About the organization’ shou​l​d tell guests about the organization’s mission and programs. Guests
appreciate knowing the work they are supporting and how they can get involved.
Share who is hosting the experience:
❏ ‘About You’ covers how the host is involved with the activity or organization
❏ ‘About You’ highlights background or qualifications of the host
❏ ‘About the Organization’ outlines the mission and programs of the organization
What we’ll do
When describing your experience, it’s important to take a step back and think about why you got
involved in the first place. Why are you passionate about this subject, and why do you think others
will want to join in?

4. It may help to follow a general structure of beginning, middle, and end. Start with a clear sentence
giving an overview of what people will do, then walk them through how the experience will unfold.
This is your moment to get guests excited - include any fun or unique aspects that will set you
apart from the crowd. The more you can highlight aspects that are unique and special, the better.
Tell the story of your experience:
❏ Description is written in story format (e.g. has a beginning, middle, and end)
❏ Description is vivid and guests can imagine they’re there
❏ Description includes ideas for specific occasions for travelers or locals to take your
experience (e.g. great for date night, family outing, team building activity, etc)
❏ Copy is written concisely and in a compelling way
Where we’ll meet
Tell guests exactly where to meet you at the start of the experience. Make sure the location is easy
to find. The exact address won’t be shared until the guest’s reservation is confirmed.
Share the meeting location:
❏ The correct address is listed
❏ Directions are included so guests can find you easily
Where we’ll be
Tell us where you’ll go, why each location is special, or why a guest will love it. Is it close by to other
tourist destinations or somewhere more remote and local?
Highlight your experience location:
❏ Description explains why the location is unique or special
❏ Description is vivid and guests can imagine they’re there
❏ If possible, location description ties back to your nonprofit or cause
What I’ll Provide
It’s important to let guests know what you’ll provide because it helps them understand what they’re
paying for. Be as specific as you can to sell your experience - e.g. wine from a local winery, small
bites made by a chef, tickets to the museum, calligraphy equipment that guests will be able to take
home, etc.
Share what you’ll be providing:
❏ All items being provided are listed and described
❏ Consider a “wow” moment or gift that is not listed to ‘surprise and delight’ guests
❏ When applicable, items are in compliance with ​local laws

5.
Price
The price of your experience is always up to you. Some new hosts offer their experience at a lower
price in the beginning to attract guests when they don’t have any reviews yet.
Set an appropriate price as a new experience:
❏ Revisit this article about ​pricing strategies​ (5 min)
❏ Start at a low price point with the intention of gaining reviews and raising price over time
Booking Settings
There are two booking settings:
1. Assuming someone has booked your experience and you’re preparing to host, when is the
last possible time that an another guest can join? That is your ​cutoff time​.
2. If no guests have booked by a certain time, you can have your instance automatically
unscheduled ​and no longer visible in search or available for booking.
Booking settings can have a big impact on how many guests see your experience in search results.
We’ve found that 20% of bookings are made within two days of the experience so to remain
available to last-minute bookers, consider setting both your cutoff time as well as your unschedule
time as close as possible to the start of the experience.
Set the optimal booking settings:
❏ You have enough time to prepare for hosting your guests
❏ Your cutoff time is as close as possible to the start of the experience
❏ Your unscheduled time is as close as possible to the start of the experience
Congratulations! ​You’ve completed the Experience Submission Checklist and have submitted your
experience through Airbnb.
The Social Impact Experience team will now review your experience to ensure we have all the
information needed for success. Once approved, you’ll be able to add specific dates and times to
your ​Experience calendar​. Expect to hear from us shortly!