Airbnb upgrade adds experiences and places
Airbnb, the popular short-term rental platform, is expanding beyond just booking homes and apartments. Now, the San Francisco company wants to help you book surf lessons, dance classes, walking tours and other experiences.
With an upgrade that launched Thursday, the Airbnb app will offer the new feature in 12 cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Paris and London.
The upgrade represents a significant expansion for Airbnb, which began in 2008 with two roommates renting out their living room to make ends meet.
The upgrade was announced by co-founder Brian Chesky at Airbnb Open, a conference for hosts in Los Angeles. The three-day event is expected to attract about 7,500 Airbnb hosts from around the world.
“It’s all about immersing in the local culture,” he said, adding that he hopes to expand the feature to 50 cities next year.
The experiences, Chesky said, will be offered in the cities where guests are booking an Airbnb home and will be offered by local hosts. About half of the lessons, experiences and tours will be priced at less than $200, he said.
Among the examples he discussed at a gathering at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles were burlesque dance lessons in London, a samurai sword class in Tokyo and truffle hunting in Tuscany.
“This is not a tour,” Chesky said. “You participate. You are immersed.”
He also hinted that the Airbnb app will eventually let guests also book airline reservations, car rentals and food delivery services.
To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
