The Wienermobile and similar lodging opportunities were available on a first-come-first-served basis, and only for a few nights. So while millions of people read about them, not many were able to book them.

That scarcity can be effective for companies seeking news coverage, according to Ron Berman, an assistant professor of marketing at the Wharton School. “It needs to be more of an interesting story — let’s call it an aspirational experience — than an actual experience,” he said.

While getting the right kind of attention is difficult, news reports that link brands with interesting opportunities can make for excellent marketing, Professor Berman said. And New York Times reporters who write about those marketing tactics could be helping the brands even more.

But Airbnb, which has been valued at about $30 billion, is worth watching as it expands beyond lodging and into the more nebulous realm of experiences. The platform has already asserted itself as a disruptive force in the hotel and real estate industries — clashing with cities, neighborhoods and residents in pitched legal battles at almost every step of the way. And last week, after a shooting at a rental property that killed five people at a Halloween party, Mr. Chesky said on Twitter that Airbnb planned to crack down on “party houses.”

In Malibu, Calif., the Barbie mansion didn’t really exist as such until Mattel teamed up with Airbnb to promote the Barbie brand’s 60th anniversary. Adorned with pops of pink specifically for last week’s booking, the property was open to four people for just two nights. Still, it earned news media coverage from CNBC, The New York Post and Fox News.

“We felt that this partnership with Airbnb would be a really fun and relevant way” to reinforce Barbie’s place in popular culture, said Lisa McKnight, the global head of Barbie and dolls for Mattel.