الخميس، 21 يناير 2016

Airbnb can be gross, rival HomeAway demonstrates in new ad

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Sharing your vacation accommodations with a stranger can be a fun way to make new friends, save some money and otherwise liven up a trip.
It can also make for a hellish holiday full of hair-matted bars of soap, little kids hosing down your meals with squirt guns and unwelcome affections from big hairy men in Speedos.
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That latter worst-case scenario is what vacation rental company HomeAway chose to focus on in its new ad campaign, which mocks the sharing economy with a series of uncomfortable moments and unsavory hosts that you might encounter when renting out a room in a stranger's house.


The minute-long spot is narrated by Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman and directed by absurdist comedy duo Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of Adult Swim's Tim & Eric.
While no specific mention is made of rival Airbnb, it seems clear that HomeAway is hoping to differentiate itself as the option for people who don't want to share their space. Unlike Airbnb, which lets you book a room in someone's house for a short stay in addition to an entire home, HomeAway's listings consist of entire homes and other properties meant for longer term rentals.
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