Airbnb Reveals Plan to Help Hosts Stand Out, Guests Find What They Want

10 years ago, Airbnb co-founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia inflated 3 airbeds in their San Francisco apartment and started what has become a global phenomenon in travel. Today, Airbnb is one of the world’s largest accommodation platforms with 4.5 million places to stay in 81,000 cities. Over the last 10 years, Airbnb hosts earned more than $41bn and guests have checked into an Airbnb more than 300 million times.

As it looks to the next 10 years and the continued success of its host community, Airbnb today unveils a Roadmap for its core Homes business that is designed to bring the transformative benefits of local, personal and authentic travel to every type of traveler. The Roadmap includes:

• Four new property types – Vacation Home, Unique, B&B and Boutiques (in addition to existing Entire Home, Private Room and Shared Space)
• New tiers – Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb
• Airbnb Collections – homes perfectly suited to every occasion
• Investing back in its community with a revamped Superhost program and a new guest membership program launching later this year

"10 years ago we never dreamed of what Airbnb could become. In fact, people thought the idea that strangers would stay in each other’s homes was crazy. Today, millions of people every night do just that. But we want to go further by supporting and expanding our community so that in 10 years' time, more than 1 billion people per year will experience the benefits of magical travel on Airbnb," said Airbnb Co-Founder, CEO and Head of Community, Brian Chesky.

New Property Types

The Airbnb Host Community is broad and diverse with more than 4.5 million places to stay around the world. Over the years the types of properties on the platform have become increasingly diverse from treehouses to boutique hotels but it’s still only possible to navigate by 3 property types – Shared Space, Private Room and Entire Home. This makes it hard for hosts to stand out and guests can’t always find what they’re looking for.

To address this, Airbnb will add 4 new property types to its platform – Vacation Home, Unique Space, B&B and Boutique. This will give greater choice of accommodation options to guests, provide greater transparency over the types of accommodation available, and help hosts better showcase what’s unique about them to better match with guests’ preferences. Starting immediately, Airbnb is making tools available to hosts to categorize their listings to an unprecedented level of detail in the travel industry, not only making it possible to organize everything by these 7 core property types, but also opening the door to sophisticated search capabilities that will allow any traveler to find the host and home that’s right for them. All 7 property types will launch to guests this summer.

Airbnb Collections

Airbnb was initially designed mainly for solo travel but over the years, millions of people have found the platform suited to a range of different types of travel, whether that be families who want extra space and a place to cook, to adventurers who are looking for somewhere to stay off the beaten track. To meet the needs of such a diverse range of travelers, Airbnb is launching Collections – perfect homes for every occasion. Launching immediately are Airbnb for Family and Airbnb for Work with Collections for Social stays, Weddings, Honeymoons, Group getaways and Dinner parties coming later this year.

New Tiers – Airbnb Plus

To broaden the appeal of Airbnb to even more guests, and to recognize hosts who go above and beyond to provide outstanding hospitality, Airbnb is today launching a new tier of homes on Airbnb that have been personally verified for quality and comfort. Starting with 2000 homes in 13 cities available to book right now, Airbnb Plus is intended for guests looking for beautiful homes, exceptional hosts and added peace of mind. Airbnb Plus homes have been inspected and verified in person against a 100+ point checklist covering cleanliness, comfort and design. Airbnb Plus hosts benefit from top placement, in-home services such as design consultation and expert photography, and premium support.

New Tiers – Luxury

Following last year’s acquisition of Luxury Retreats, Airbnb today previews a new standard in travel – Beyond by Airbnb. Launching this Spring, Beyond by Airbnb will offer custom designed trips of a lifetime, including the world’s finest homes, custom experiences and world-class hospitality.

Recognition – Investing in the Airbnb Community

Hosts and guests are the heart of Airbnb. Through its Superhost program, which now includes 400,000 hosts globally, Airbnb already recognizes its most loved hosts. Today it announces an expansion of the program to offer 14 new and updated benefits including better exposure, custom urls and exclusive benefits on smart home products. Visit airbnb.com/superhost to see the full range of benefits.

Later this year, Airbnb will also recognize its best guests with a new guest membership program offering benefits across the entire trip. Superguest will launch initially to 10,000 guests as a trial this summer before being rolled out to Airbnb’s wider guest community before the end of the year.

Today’s announcement is driven by Airbnb’s commitment to be a 21st Century Company that operates in the interests of all its stakeholders, including hosts, guests and communities. That means helping hosts be more successful, bringing belonging to more guests and supporting small businesses in communities such as B&Bs and boutiques that provide local and authentic hospitality. This also includes a continued commitment to partner with authorities around the world on rules that ensure Airbnb strengthens communities.