Airbnb seeks to ‘reinvent’ itself with higher quality listings and offerings ‘beyond accommodation’
The vacation letting large is rethinking its technique by refining properties on provide and introducing new experiences.
Airbnb is among the world’s most-used rental websites but it surely’s stirred anger and criticism from tourism boards, residents and travellers in recent times.
A number of locations have cracked down on the proliferating variety of lodging leases together with Florence and Barcelona to try to stem native housing crises.
A few of the firm’s advertising and marketing stunts have additionally missed the mark. Most lately, Airbnb provided company the possibility to be a gladiator in Rome’s Colosseum, which was derided by locals and officers as ‘Disneyfying’ the traditional monument.
Now, the vacation letting large is rethinking its technique together with refining the properties on provide and introducing new experiences.
Airbnb sees rise in bookings in 2024
Regardless of the rising considerations over its contribution to overtourism, Airbnb’s reputation continues to develop.
Bookings through the summer time quarter of 2024 rose by eight per cent to 122.8 million in comparison with final yr.
Extra holidaymakers are utilizing the app to search out lodging; the proportion of cell bookings rose by 5 per cent this yr.
The homestay firm has been working to enhance its app, with 50 upgrades since October to make it extra personalised and accessible to first-time customers.
Airbnb additionally reported an increase in first-time bookers, notably youthful travellers.
Airbnb ups native fee foreign money choices
Airbnb has attributed a few of its elevated bookings to the introduction of extra native fee choices.
Now you can pay within the native foreign money of nations together with Vietnam, Denmark and Poland.
“Whereas our timing and funding degree differ by market, our technique is constant: make Airbnb native and related,” the corporate mentioned.
“By spring 2025, we count on to supply practically 40 native fee strategies throughout 5 continents.
Airbnb removes a whole lot of ‘low high quality’ listings
The corporate has additionally develop into extra selective in its vacation rental choices.
It mentioned it had eliminated over 300,000 “low high quality” properties from the location after they failed to satisfy company’ expectations.
Travellers’ tales of sub-standard leases and hosts’ unreasonable cleansing calls for usually hit the headlines.
Airbnb can be looking for to cut back the variety of cancellations by property hosts. Though this doesn’t happen often, the corporate referred to as it a “important ache level” for company.
Airbnb to increase past lodging
Airbnb additionally introduced it could be increasing “past lodging” subsequent yr, though it didn’t specify particulars.
This will relate to the Airbnb experiences choices which have been launched in 2016 however didn’t see nice success. These are actions that vacationers can signal as much as comparable to native meals excursions or adventurous excursions. As a consequence of their declining reputation, the corporate halted new sign-ups for expertise hosts final yr.
Journey web site Skift has speculated that Airbnb might relaunch experiences and market them to locals, not simply travellers, and incorporate ticket gross sales for main sights just like the Louvre.
Different choices could also be tied into property leases by providing at-home experiences like massages or dinners cooked by a personal chef.
