Airbnb has unveiled an exciting update designed to enhance your travel experience by allowing you to book a variety of services and activities. Whether you crave a relaxing massage, a hairstyling session, a chef-prepared meal, or an adventurous city tour, Airbnb’s new feature brings these experiences right to your fingertips. Not only can you add them to your stay, but you can also book them independently.
This is part of Airbnb’s strategy to expand beyond its primary focus on accommodation. Despite having over 1.5 billion devices accessing its service last year, many visitors don’t actually book accommodations. By introducing these new options, Airbnb aims to offer more reasons to stay engaged with its platform.
Airbnb is now in direct competition with other travel companies, offering 10 categories of bookable services including culinary delights, spa treatments, personal hairstyling, and more, all available in 100 cities across eight countries. While some services are available at your destination, others may require a short trip to a venue.
In addition to services, Airbnb has launched a variety of experiences in 19 categories, ranging from cultural tours and outdoor adventures to culinary classes and art workshops, available in 1,000 cities globally. Moreover, exclusive Airbnb Originals experiences featuring celebrity partnerships promise unique adventures, such as pastry making with renowned chefs or sports with Olympians.
The goal of these offerings is to help travelers explore cities like locals, echoing the uniqueness of Airbnb’s accommodations. According to Judson Coplan, Airbnb’s VP of Product Marketing, these experiences could encourage people to explore new destinations and engage in local activities they hadn’t considered before.
Airbnb will earn a 15% commission on services and a 20% commission on experiences. Hosts offering these will undergo verification and quality checks.
Alongside these offerings, Airbnb is enhancing its app to facilitate easy browsing and booking across Stays, Services, and Experiences categories. Suggestions for related activities will help personalize the travel planning process. For hosts, improved calendar and listing features offer better management tools.
Adding a social dimension, Airbnb plans to introduce group chat features, enabling travelers who have shared an experience to exchange thoughts and recommendations. This aligns with Airbnb’s vision of fostering connections, an element that increased by 15 times after the launch of its updated profile page last year.
Further enhancing customer experience, Airbnb is leveraging AI to offer more efficient support. The new AI-powered assistance can provide immediate answers, making it a convenient touchpoint for trip planning and more. Initially available to English-speaking users in the U.S., this feature will be expanded globally, offering personalized travel advice and quick action buttons.
The latest updates to Airbnb’s website and mobile apps are rolling out worldwide, promising a richer, more interactive, and connected travel experience.
