AlumSpeak – Mr. Varun Raina, Marketing Head India, Airbnb

Mr. Varun Raina, Marketing Head India, Airbnb from the 2008 batch of SIBM Pune, interacted with the students of SIBM Pune as part of ‘AlumSpeak’ – a series of guest lectures organized by the Alumni team, where illustrious alumni interact with the students on industry-relevant topics.

Mr. Raina structured his session around ‘Storytelling: the Airbnb way’. He spoke about the founding story, as to how a series of events chained together to form the online hospitality service. Mr. Raina also addressed the common misuse of the term ’start-up’ by mentioning examples to prove his point.

Speaking about Airbnb, he showcased a popular television advertisement to help the students better understand how a company targets it, customers, breaking down characteristics to the last customer.

Mr. Raina spoke in depth about various marketing strategies used by multiple organizations trying to establish themselves in India. He concluded his session with Airbnb’s vision for the future, showcasing that there exist limitless possibilities.