Alternative to hotels
Museum and massage: Airbnb wants to grow with services
Airbnb started as a cheaper alternative to hotels. Now the platform is doing a large move to grow beyond the business with accommodation.
The Airbnb accommodation platform relyes more on additional services and experience excursions. For example, you will be able to book masseurs, hair stylists as well as professional cooks or catering via the app. The experiences are about museum visits, riding excursions or cooking courses, for example.
“Hotels have something we don’t have: Services,” said Airbnb boss Brian Chesky. This shortcoming wants to compensate for Airbnb. Services can also be booked at your own place of residence via the app. The offer initially starts in 260 cities with ten categories. This also includes fitness trainers and services from photographers. The offer should be expanded in more types of services.
The idea of experiencing the city with the people they know best is the idea of experiencing the city, said Chesky. You will also be able to book them in your own city without having to travel with Airbnb. With other people who participate, you should be able to contact the app before and after the appointment.
Under the name Airbnb Originals, experiences with the “most interesting people in the world” are to be offered, said Chesky. As examples, Airbnb gives a Sunday with NFL star Patrick Mahomes, time with singer Sabrina Carpenter or a visit to the Cathedral Notre-Dame in Paris with one of the architects who worked on her reconstruction.
The Airbnb app was rebuilt to make them fit for the new offers beyond accommodation. For example, after the booking, the app will suggest services and experiences nearby.
dpa
Source: Stern
