The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is widely known as a world-leading pediatric hospital. The reality is that the infrastructure, some of which was built in 1949, now presents a daily obstacle for doctors, staff, and families. Yet, based on recent brand health surveys, the majority of those familiar with SickKids do not understand the urgent need for a new hospital. With nearly $400 million in fundraising still needed to build a new hospital, we had to create a spectacle that grabbed attention, drove awareness, and combatted the current perception of SickKids as a state-of-the-art facility.

At SickKids Airbnb, we transformed a hospital boardroom into an exact replica of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and recreated the experience patients, families, and staff live every day. To ensure accuracy, we conducted over 30 hours of interviews with stakeholders to get a true sense of the impact of the outdated infrastructure. We then created a 3-hour experience including a 100-track soundscape and live reenactments that featured SickKids doctors, nurses, and voice recordings from real families for a truly immersive experience. No detail was missed, including hand-written charts, worn tape on the floor, even the constant beeping of machines.

Next we partnered with Airbnb and invited the public to stay the night. The experience was made available through a real listing that highlighted the shocking limitations of the space. The experience was valued at $16,744, the cost to operate a room in the PICU for one night.