Airbnb [VIDEO]: New Logo, Substantial Redesign To Website And Apps, Enough To Surpass Legal Woes?

Airbnb has recently announced a new logo Wednesday. Along with an intensive redesign to its website and mobile apps, Airbnb has also introduced a campaign including a "symbol of belonging" called a Bélo. According to Tech Crunch, the Airbnb redesign has now made users' lives easier with easier information search, whilst making listings on its platform more appealing.

Mashable reports that the announcement was made from the apartment where founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia began the company in 2007. Since its beginnings, the rental service company, Airbnb, has grown from a two-person operation to a $10 billion industry.

The redesign of Airbnb reportedly includes rethinking of its web and mobile experiences. Also offered is a clean-up of listings, where photos are featured and booking process is simplified.

In lieu of the redesign, Airbnb has also released a video which explains the meaning of the Bélo symbol, appearing to the left of the new Airbnb logo.

According to Tech Crunch, functional elements the Airbnb website and mobile apps will mostly remain,m since there has also been a large overhaul that Airbnb did last year. But the updated look and feel of the Airbnb website and apps is certainly refreshing.

The launch of the new Airbnb site has been described by many as 'flat,' since its previous design was reportedly bombarded by shadows and gradients. Now it only has more white space and a common font throughout. There is no longer a text overlaid on top of photos and below are images and added host photos for guests to recognize whose place they will be staying at.

In a nutshell, the new design highlights all things essential to users upon deciding if they want to book a listing or not, says Tech Crunch.

According to Airbnb head of user experience Katie Dill, the decision of providing users instant information at first glance about the listing came in order to highlight the hierarchy of information that guests look for when they decide whether or not to book.

Airbnb has reportedly worked hard to create neighborhood guides for many of major cities in the world where guests want to stay in over the past few years. Airbnb mainly aims to show guests what they can expect as they arrive, which includes recreation, shops and restaurants available in their desired location.

The new design of Airbnb forwards those information directly into the listings page.

It appears that another major element of the Airbnb brand is also being updated. Airbnb's new logo image has replaced the cursive lower-case "a."

Internally called the "Bélo," which appears to be an upper-case "A, the symbol has the familiar symbol for location on a map inside. According to reports, the new Airbnb icon was made in partnership with a U.K.-based design studio, and Airbnb is hoping that it will better represent the company's ambitions as a global hospitality brand.

Meanwhile, on social media, specifically Twitter, the new Airbnb logo has seen both positive and negative reviews, apparently many seeing the new symbol as somewhat similar to the female genitalia.

Still, what's also noticeable is the timing of the rebranding of Airbnb. According to Mashable, the moment comes at an appealing time for Airbnb since the company increased its outreach in New York recently.

Called the tough situation in New York, it is reportedly one of the big battlegrounds for Airbnb. Passed in 2010 was the "illegal hotel law" in NYC, prohibiting a large proportion of the Airbnb listings in the city. The New York state attorney general has reportedly made it clear he's willing to fight this battle with Airbnb.

The company said the law only discriminates against residents wanting to rent out their space in order to make some extra cash. Meanwhile, legislators argue that the law intends to protect tenants from exploitative landlords and undesirable situations.

The legal battle in New York continues, and Airbnb has reportedly put a considerable part of their resources in appealing to the public. The ads for the new campaign of Airbnb in New York City feature residents who say they should be able to rent out their homes.

Airbnb apparently need to continue their growth potential, while fighting legal hurdles, especially in cities like New York and San Francisco, with a message of "belonging."

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