Airbnb’s overhauled app offers on-demand chefs, massages and other hotel-like amenities
Airbnb is on a quest to make the homeshare experience more and more like staying at a hotel.
Now, 17 years after the service "changed the way people travel," according to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, the company is launching bookable hotel-like services. These revamped Airbnb experiences will allow travelers or locals to explore destinations through a totally redesigned Airbnb app.
"With the launch of services and experiences, we're changing travel again," Chesky said.
Here's a rundown of these new services and changes, all available now.
Airbnb Services
One major benefit of a hotel is the ability to, oftentimes, quickly access nearly anything you want: breakfast in bed, a spa treatment at the property or even a quick blowout in the salon.
With Airbnb Services, people staying in an Airbnb, as well as people in their own homes, can now book those services directly from the Airbnb app, across 10 different categories:
- Chefs — fully customizable in-home meals from professional chefs
- Photography — personalized photo sessions from experienced photographers
- Massage — restorative massages, including Swedish, deep tissue and reflexology, from certified therapists
- Spa treatments — facials, microdermabrasion, body scrubs and other treatments provided by licensed estheticians
- Personal training — yoga, strength training, HIIT and more with personal trainers who include renowned fitness professionals and world champion athletes
- Hair — professional haircuts, blowouts and more from experienced stylists
- Makeup — makeup for everyday or special occasions from professional makeup artists
- Nails — manicures and pedicures from experienced nail specialists
- Prepared meals — ready-to-eat meals prepared by professional chefs
- Catering — full-service catering with custom menus, decor, and equipment, plus setup and cleanup
Starting below $50 and rolling out in 260 cities around the world, available services are all from providers that have been vetted by Airbnb through its identity verification process and have professional licenses and certifications.
Related: How to earn cash back or points when booking Airbnbs, Vrbo rentals, hostels and more
Airbnb Experiences
For years, Airbnb Experiences has offered travelers and locals a series of activities to get out and explore, maybe through a hands-on cooking class or a photography workshop in a beautiful neighborhood.
Now, Airbnb has reimagined the Experiences platform and honed in on making Airbnb Experiences "a more authentic way to experience a city," according to the brand. Available now in at least 650 cities around the world, these new experiences include touring Paris' restored Notre Dame with an architect who worked on the renovation, learning the art of the Mexican luchador in the actual ring on a visit to Mexico City and learning how to make ramen with a Michelin Bib Gourmand award winner in Japan.
"The most authentic way to explore a city is with the locals who know it best," Chesky said about Airbnb Experiences.
According to Airbnb, Experiences are vetted for expertise, reputation, authenticity and quality, and are constantly reassessed through guest feedback.
Airbnb Experiences are also being redesigned to offer a more social component via new features coming later this year that will allow users to see who is joining the Experience and reach out to the group or individual members before or after (or not at all, thanks to "simple and transparent privacy controls").
Airbnb Originals (with some celebrity guests)
A new category of Airbnb Experiences, called "Airbnb Originals," is also launching with "extraordinary experiences hosted by the world's most interesting people, designed exclusively for Airbnb." Think of each offering as a sort of once-in-a-lifetime experience that includes a master of their craft or a celebrity you adore.
Some of the first Airbnb Original experiences include transforming into your "anime alter-ego" with Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion, spending a Sunday "learning how to throw the perfect spiral and enjoying Kansas City barbecue" with NFL star Patrick Mahomes and joining Sabrina Carpenter for a day of glam and espresso.
Redesigned Airbnb app
If you open the Airbnb app on your phone, you might notice it looks a little different from the last time you checked.
With a new focus on Experiences and Services, the app has been redesigned to help you find the perfect place to stay — and then curate your visit with recommendations to enhance your trip and tools to organize everything you've booked and ultimately streamline your trip.
These reimagined features include:
- Explore tab — an all-new homepage to discover homes in popular destinations, experiences that fit your schedule and services around the world
- Trips tab — an advanced travel itinerary with a schedule of your trip, details about your home and the services and experiences you've booked
- Messages — a revamped messaging platform with photo and video sharing and integrated payments for customizing services
- Profile — a redesigned Airbnb profile lets you share where you've traveled on Airbnb and see the people you've met along the way; Airbnb profiles also highlight the over 200 million guests and hosts worldwide who have completed the brand's identity verification process
On the host side, new features will also be available to help manage bookings and listings.
Bottom line
We can all agree there's a time and a place for an Airbnb, and there's a time and a place for a hotel stay. But with these new changes, Airbnb is starting to blur the lines more and more. With Airbnb Services, a homestay might feel more like a hotel stay, but it's also interesting to see how Airbnb is starting to aggregate and commodify local talent and cater to folks in their own homes.
Ultimately, with Services, Experiences and the all-new app, Airbnb is trying to offer full-service trip planning, almost like a little concierge right in your pocket.
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