At Airbnb, New Services and ‘Experiences’

For 17 years, Airbnb has faced the hotel industry, and now, two billion guests later, the company is increasing competition. In a today’s announcement, Brian Chesky, executive director of Airbnb, said the company will offer the types of services that are typically found in hotels, including room service, SPA treatments and personal training, all reservable in the Airbnb redesigned application. Other services could include meals prepared by professional chefs and living room treatments such as hair, nails and makeup.

The company is also reinventing Airbnb’s experiences, its service that sacrifices the tours and events organized by experts, to emphasize authentic cultural, sports, sports and well -being activities administered by the locals. The initial offers are available in 100 cities, including a tour of the recent Restolated Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris with Axelle Ponsonnet, one of the architects who restored the cathedral after partial burned in 2019. And a wrestling training experience with a professional fighter in Mexico City is among other new experiences.

“Airbnb is currently used as a noun and verb, and means a place to stay,” Chesky said in a recent interview. “The question we asked was what would happen if you could airbnb more than an airbnb and essentially monetize the greatest asset of your life, which is probably not your home but your time, passion and skill set.”

The company tried the idea when it launched Airbnb’s experiences in 2016, but faced problems about quality and reliability.

Mitch Bach, executive and co -founder director of Trip School, an independent organization that enables tourist guides, said that the main problem with the original deployment was that experience suppliers, thought that it turns the deeply embedded, lacked professionalism or localura.

Airbnb “Avoid tourist attractions, which are bread and butter of a market like Getyourguide or Viarator,” said Bach. “I think his bet was that around that brand and the genius of the airbnb position in the market, they could organically climb this, but they found very clearly what they could be.”

In the restart, Airbnb said it, focusing on quality and professionalism, with the rigorous and continuous research of turning suppliers “” “experience, reputation and authenticity.”

Mr. Chesky said the new product is still unique “Airbnb”. “We are finding the most interesting people in the world and designing new experiences,” said the Notre-Dame Tour as an example of using an expert outside the travel industry to offer a unique lens.

In some cities, Airbnb, launching a line of experiences is that it calls “original”, specifically designed for the company. These include the manufacture of pastry chefs with the French bakery chef Raphaelle Elbaz in Paris, or play beach volleyball on the beach of Leblon in Rio de Janeiro with the Olympic Carol Solberg. The company is also being associated with celebrities such as Megan Tea Stallion and Sabrina Carpenter to organize dance and glamor sessions.

Airbnb said many users found the company’s previous experiences too much expectations. At an average price of $ 65 per person, new experiences are more affordable, said Airbnb, and are easier to organize. With the new application, users can reserve houses, experiences and services in one place. Once the reserves are confirmed, a new “travel mode” allows guests to see and edit their itineraries. There is also a social component that allows people to see and interact with people reserved with the same experience.

“I have always believed that Airbnb was destined to make more than to provide a place to stay,” said Chesky.

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