Airbnb / Hello Stranger
The Best Trips Are the Ones You Didn’t Plan.
Over 45% of interactions on Airbnb involve a host and guest who don't speak the same language. And when language isn't the barrier, hosts and guests still connect across religion, politics, and race. That insight became the foundation for Hello Stranger — a podcast designed to take people somewhere unexpected through immersive sound and storytelling.
The team secured funding to produce a limited series as a prototype. Environmental sound design did the heavy lifting, transporting listeners into the story rather than just narrating it. One episode followed a writer to a small rural village hours outside Tokyo, where a woman named Michiko Katsuse — after Alzheimer's stole her husband's memory and constricted her life — opened her doors to what became known as The Ninja Mansion, and flourished. Another captured the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County, the most destructive wildfire in California history, where Airbnb hosts opened their homes to displaced families and animals during rescue and recovery. Supporting articles and social content drove listeners back to Airbnb to explore travel.
Role: Concept, Design, Strategy
Partners: Brendan Francis Newnam, and SoundMadePublic
