As a part of a broader app replace, Airbnb on Tuesday launched a brand new function that permits vacationers to ebook companies and experiences, like getting a therapeutic massage, haircut, or chef-prepared meal, or participating in some exercise. These new choices could be added to your keep, however they may also be booked independently, Airbnb says.
As an illustration, you may ebook a tour in a metropolis you’ve traveled to, however the place you’ve chosen to remain elsewhere, the corporate suggests.
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 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 12 months, however identified that many individuals come to the positioning and don’t ebook a house.
It additionally brings Airbnb extra instantly in competitors with different journey firms comparable to Tripadvisor, Reserving.com, Viator, and GetYourGuide, and repair suppliers like Yelp.
Initially, Airbnb permits you to ebook companies throughout 10 classes, together with cooks, catering, ready meals, pictures, massages, spa remedy, private coaching, hair, nails, and make-up. The companies will likely be supplied in 100 cities worldwide throughout eight international locations.
Whereas customers can make the most of companies the place they’re staying, they may sometimes should journey to a venue for the experiences.
Initially, experiences will embrace cultural and museum excursions; outside, watersport, and wildlife experiences; meals excursions and cooking lessons; artwork workshops and buying experiences; and exercise, wellness, and sweetness experiences. The corporate is launching experiences in 19 classes throughout 1,000 cities on the planet.
Airbnb can also be launching unique experiences on its platform referred to as Airbnb Originals, which contain superstar partnerships. These embrace issues like pastry making at French Bastards bakery with chef Raphaelle Elbaz, or enjoying seashore volleyball with Olympian Carol Solberg on Rio’s Leblon Seashore.
“These experiences and services are a way to experience a city like a local. We think that these are natural extensions to home [stays]. What’s great about Airbnb is that you get unique accommodations that you can’t find anywhere else. We think about our new offerings the same way,” Judson Coplan, VP of Product Advertising at Airbnb, advised TechCrunch over a name.
Coplan believes that Airbnb Experiences could encourage individuals to journey and make a journey they may not have thought of. Plus, he thinks that the brand new choices can result in individuals discovering new issues to do in their very own city.
Airbnb will take a 15% reduce from companies and a 20% reduce from experiences. Nevertheless, customers will simply see one worth when trying to find or reserving both class. The corporate says hosts in these classes will undergo verification and high quality checks that embrace their expertise, on-line presence, training, and required licenses.
Airbnb’s new app provides a social play
The addition of companies and experiences is an element 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 modifications.
Company will be capable of discover and ebook from the Keep, Providers, and Experiences classes. And, if vacationers have already got an upcoming journey booked, the app will counsel associated experiences or companies. On the opposite finish, hosts may have a calendar and listings features that assist them handle bookings and choices.
Airbnb can also be making ready to roll out social options later this 12 months.
The app in the present day has a bunch messaging function for journey planning, nevertheless it plans so as to add a bunch chat function for individuals who have been to an expertise collectively. That approach, they will discuss in regards to the expertise, share photographs and movies, or make suggestions for an additional journey.
In flip, Airbnb hopes this might lead individuals to wish 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 secure expertise for customers.
The social options observe final 12 months’s launch of an up to date profile web page, which allowed customers to explain extra about themselves, together with the place they reside, 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 a huge increase in a number of people who wanted to share more about themselves. For us, that was a clue that travel is something about connections,” he defined. “Whether it’s your host, people you travel with, or people you meet along the way. There is especially, in this moment of time, a desire to connect with other people.”
Scaling customer support with AI
Mirroring feedback made by Chesky, Coplan famous how Airbnb is utilizing AI to offer customer support, and the way, over time, its AI assistant will develop 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 offers a solution inside the chat.
The bot is initially accessible to English-speaking customers within the U.S. and will likely be absolutely rolled out by month-end to this market. Later this 12 months, the function will develop into accessible to extra international locations and languages, Coplan advised TechCrunch.
Over time, he says Airbnb will add extra options to its AI assistant, together with personalised 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 in the present day.
