Airbnb
’Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics & Paralympics’
Out-of-home campaign that made Airbnb's Milanese hosts the city's welcoming committee.
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Challenge
Airbnb had billboards across Milan and the whole of Cadorna station for the Winter Olympics — in a city where the brand is not universally loved. Olympic-style "welcome to Milan" messaging from a global platform would have landed flat.
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Approach
Let Milan speak for itself. We interviewed 36 Airbnb hosts, sat down properly with 21 of them, and photographed them in their neighborhoods. What we got back wasn't hospitality copy; it was the vintage shop nobody knows, the courtyard everyone walks past, the bar where you toast the medals and drown the defeats. We distilled it into 45 quotes and tips and placed them along the routes visitors would actually walk during the Games.
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Results
The billboards delighted visitors, but the more interesting result was political: the host-led campaign opened a conversation with the city, and more than ten local politicians visited Casa Airbnb during the Games. Brian Chesky later showed the work in the company's Q1 town hall as the example of how Airbnb wants to show up as a brand and a community. In addition, brand loyalty peaked at an NPS score of 73 two months after the campaign.
After speaking with Milan’s favorite Airbnb hosts, we learned not only so much about Milan, but also what it means to host. We saw that these people genuinely care about the experience visitors, whether from Italy or further away, will have in their neighborhood. These hosts dripped with character when they described their favorite vintage shop or told us more about this one courtyard that is easily missed but a must-visit to them. After culling down the interviews and distilling the best bits, we landed on 45 unique quotes and tips that we then placed around the city center of Milan and along walking pathways visitors would take during the Olympics.
Starting with super-sized spectaculars at key points in the city, with welcome messaging as well as first quotes hinting at the attitude and character of Milanese people and hosts.
Welcome to Milan from your Airbnb hosts.
Welcome to Milan from your Airbnb hosts.
“The best way to gain kilos: panettone. The best way to lose kilos: climb the Duomo on foot.”
“We Milanese are like our palazzos. All stone outside, all charm in the courtyards.”
“Piazza dei Mercanti might just be a 5-minute walk away, but it will take you back 500 years.”
“As a teen, Albert Einstein lived at Via Bigli 21. Just 0.00000000000000639 light-years east of here.”
In addition to the large spectaculars throughout the city, we also completely took over the Cadorna station, where most of the people from surrounding municipalities and those transferring from other Italian cities would transfer into the Milan metro system. With over 60 placements in different sizes and shapes, we planned the narrative of the hosts’ tips and musings throughout the station, from long billboards to three-ups and at two platforms, along the metaphorical metro-line graphic that threads the hosts' tips from the entrance to both platforms.
Welcome to Milan from your Airbnb hosts.
Welcome to Milan from your Airbnb hosts.
"Milan is great." … "Milan is an aperitif on the Navigli River."
"Milan is a thousand cities in one."
"Milan is for those with a fine nose."
"If you can't go to Cortina, come watch the Olympics with us at Frizzi & Lazzi."
"Milan has a mute button. It's called the Quadrilatero del Silenzio." … “We Milanese are like our palazzos. All stone outside, all charm in the courtyards.”
"If you can't go to Cortina, come watch the Olympics with us at Frizzi & Lazzi."
Welcome to Milan from your Airbnb hosts.
"Milan is a large city, but it has the smallest bar in the world: Backdoor 43."
“For Classic design: ADI Design Museum.” “For Contemporary design: Rossana Orlandi Gallery.” “For Futuristic design: Come back in April for Salone del Mobile.”
"The church of San Maurizio has nothing to envy of the Sistine Chapel, except the number of visitors."
"Milan doesn't have the sea, but it has the best fish market in Italy. Go early in the morning, because he who sleeps doesn't catch any fish."
"A few minutes from here is Martesana, the countryside but with a Milanese postal code."
"To celebrate Italy's medals: Aperitif at Bar Jamaica. To forget Italy's defeats: Aperitif at Bar Jamaica"
"Stop by Via Cappuccini 7 to peek at the famous flamingos from the gates."
"Out: Apéritif chic. In: Après-ski comfort."
Host Community
During the Olympics, we managed to tour all the large billboards and the station takeover with many of the wonderful hosts we interviewed just a few months earlier.
Host City Guide
With all the lovely photography and tips from our hosts, we decided to design a pocket-sized city guide that was handed out at the Casa Airbnb, the Olympics event space of the brand in Milan’s city center.
My role was Director of Brand Creative, International
VP of Creative Eric Grundbaum, Scott Trattner Director of Brand Creative, International Rey Andrade Director of Brand Photography Bridget Harris Creative Directors Yahkeema Moffitt, Luke Harris, Curro de la Villa Zamora, Kako Mendez, Paul Wysocan Italian Copywriters Valeria Raimondi, Mara Rizzetto Photo Leads Brian Flaherty, Lisa Ferkel, Pip Cowley Designers Ally McNair, Timothy Saputo, Brianna DiFelice Production Margaret McLaughlin, Allison Banna, Cara Hickson Marketing Nick Fell, Devika Rimmer, Kirsty Mullan, Ricardo Pabon, Maria Vittoria Felli Launch February 2026