As a part of a broader app replace, Airbnb on Tuesday launched a brand new function that permits vacationers to e-book providers and experiences, like getting a therapeutic massage, haircut, or chef-prepared meal, or participating in some exercise. These new choices will be added to your keep, however they can be booked independently, Airbnb says.
This isn’t the primary time Airbnb has tried such a function — it paused an earlier model of experiences in 2023 to enhance its core providing of stays. Now the corporate as soon as once more desires clients to transcend planning a visit.
The transfer is supposed to capitalize on the site visitors Airbnb’s web site already receives. Throughout Airbnb’s Q1 2025 name, CEO Brian Chesky mentioned that its service was accessed by over 1.5 billion units within the final yr, however he identified that many individuals come to the location and don’t e-book a house.
Picture Credit:Airbnb
It additionally brings Airbnb extra instantly in competitors with different journey corporations comparable to Tripadvisor, Reserving.com, Viator, and GetYourGuide, and repair suppliers like Yelp.
Initially, Airbnb will permit customers to e-book providers throughout 10 classes, together with cooks, catering, ready meals, pictures, massages, spa therapy, private coaching, hair, nails, and make-up. The providers will likely be provided in 100 cities worldwide throughout eight international locations.
Whereas customers can reap the benefits of providers the place they’re staying, they’ll sometimes must journey to a venue for the experiences.
Initially, experiences will embody cultural and museum excursions; outside, watersport, and wildlife experiences; meals excursions and cooking courses; artwork workshops and buying experiences; and exercise, wellness, and wonder experiences. The corporate is launching experiences in 19 classes throughout 1,000 cities on the earth.
Picture Credit:Airbnb
Airbnb can be launching unique experiences on its platform known as Airbnb Originals, which contain celeb partnerships. These embody issues like pastry making at French Bastards bakery with chef Raphaelle Elbaz, or enjoying seaside volleyball with Olympian Carolina Solberg on Rio’s Leblon Seaside.
“These experiences and providers are a option to expertise a metropolis like a neighborhood. We expect that these are pure extensions to dwelling (stays),” Judson Coplan, VP of Product Advertising and marketing at Airbnb, informed TechCrunch over a name. “What’s nice about Airbnb is that you just get distinctive lodging that you would be able to’t discover anyplace else. We take into consideration our new choices the identical means.”
Coplan believes that Airbnb Experiences might encourage folks to journey and make a journey they may not have considered. Plus, he thinks the brand new choices can result in folks discovering new issues to do in their very own city.
Airbnb will take a 15% reduce from providers and a 20% reduce from experiences. Nevertheless, customers will simply see one value when looking for or reserving both class. The corporate says hosts in these classes will undergo verification and high quality checks that embody their expertise, on-line presence, schooling, and required licenses.
Airbnb’s new app provides a social play
The addition of providers and experiences is a component of a bigger app replace the place each the apps for company and hosts will likely be revamped to accommodate the brand new classes, amongst different adjustments.
Friends will be capable of discover and e-book from the Keep, Companies, and Experiences classes. And, if vacationers have already got an upcoming journey booked, the app will counsel associated experiences or providers. On the opposite finish, hosts could have a calendar and listings capabilities that assist them handle bookings and choices.
Airbnb can be making ready to roll out social options later this yr.
The app right this moment has a gaggle messaging function for journey planning, however it plans so as to add a gaggle chat function for individuals who have participated in an expertise collectively. That means, they will discuss concerning the expertise, share photographs and movies, or make suggestions for an additional journey.
In flip, Airbnb hopes this might lead folks to need to journey extra and use its platform to take action.
The corporate says it’s creating privateness options round these social connections to create a protected expertise for customers.
Picture Credit:Airbnb
The social options observe final yr’s launch of an up to date profile web page, which allowed customers to explain extra about themselves, together with the place they stay, languages they converse, and different information about themselves.
Coplan mentioned that after that launch, the variety of accomplished profiles on the platform elevated by 15x.
“There was an enormous enhance in various individuals who wished to share extra about themselves. For us, that was a clue that journey is one thing about connections,” he defined. “Whether or not it’s your host, folks you journey with, or folks you meet alongside the way in which, there may be, particularly on this second of time, a need to attach with different folks.”
Scaling customer support with AI
Mirroring feedback made by Chesky, Coplan famous how Airbnb is utilizing AI to supply customer support, and the way, over time, its AI assistant will turn into a concierge that may deal with journey planning and inspiration.
Earlier this month, Chesky launched Airbnb’s AI-powered customer support agent. Not like the earlier model of the bot, which redirected customers to a help article, the assistant now supplies a solution inside the chat.
The bot is initially obtainable to English-speaking customers within the U.S. and will likely be totally rolled out by month’s finish to this market. Later this yr, the function will turn into obtainable to extra international locations and languages, Coplan informed TechCrunch.
Over time, he says Airbnb will add extra options to its AI assistant, together with customized solutions tailor-made to your journey and reserving, and in-line motion buttons for taking fast actions, comparable to canceling a reserving.
The up to date Airbnb web site and iOS and Android apps are rolling out to all customers globally beginning right this moment.
