Airbnb Lists the Louvre

For the 30th anniversary of I.M. Pei's iconic glass pyramid, Airbnb announced that for one night only, the Louvre — the world's most visited museum and one of the most security-sensitive buildings in France — would be available to book as an Airbnb listing. The winners would be escorted through the galleries after hours, host a private dinner in the room housing the Code of Hammurabi, receive a private guided tour of the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo, and sleep in beds installed beneath the pyramid, surrounded by Egyptian sarcophagi and centuries of art. The listing price: €1. Two guests selected from 200,000 entrants got to do it. The entire campaign cost Airbnb substantially less than a single week of conventional digital advertising, and generated months of global press coverage.

Every Airbnb 'Night At' campaign (they also did the Eiffel Tower, a shark tank, an Olympic stadium, and a floating Icelandic island) makes the same argument: Airbnb can get you into spaces that no hotel ever could. Each campaign is a product demonstration disguised as a cultural event.

200,000+ applications from 115 countries. Covered by major press in France, US, UK, and globally. Became Airbnb's most awarded experiential campaign. The 'Night At' series is regularly cited as the most effective demonstration of Airbnb's brand promise in the company's history.