Airbnb is going from home-sharing to booking your entire trip
The company has launched a service for arranging local activities and events.
AIRBNB IS EXPANDING beyond home-sharing services to letting travellers dive into local activities in what the company has described as the most significant development in its eight-year history.
The San Francisco firm yesterday launched ‘trips’, tools that tourists can use to book local activities or events.
“Until now, Airbnb has been about homes,” co-founder and chief executive Brian Chesky said in a statement.
With Trips, Airbnb seeks to bring together “where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet,” he added.
Trips launched with three categories: experiences, places and homes. Dublin is one of several cities worldwide where people can now “request to list their experiences”, the company said. Airbnb plans to eventually add flights and services.
Airbnb also said it is adding ‘insider guidebooks’ that feature recommendations from neighborhood insiders about bars, restaurants, parks, cafés and attractions.
The company has partnered with a restaurant booking platform with the intention of adding an option to book tables from inside the Airbnb application.
Another potential revenue-generating feature being added was the ability of local businesses to host events for Airbnb guests to get together.
A new ‘trip itinerary’ feature provides a timeline for booking accommodations and activities.
“Airbnb’s vision is to ultimately cater for every aspect of a trip,” the company said.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky
Checking ID
The launch came with the introduction of a new identity authentication process in which hosts and guests of ‘experiences’ will be asked to submit scans of official government identification along with photos of themselves to confirm who they are.
“Having a more robust standard of authenticating identity will make the Airbnb community stronger,” the company said.
The new identity authentication step was required for all experiences users and was being tested for home bookings, according to Airbnb.
The San Francisco-based startup said in September that it took in $555 million through a private funding round that launched in late July and remained open, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The funding round had the potential to reach $850 million and valued Airbnb at $30 billion, a source close to the company told AFP at the time.
Money raised was expected to be used to fuel growth and international expansion of Airbnb.
Additional reporting Peter Bodkin
