What to expect from Airbnb Trips

By Sumit Modi

May 19, 2020

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Airbnb has revealed Trips, hailed as the most significant development in its eight years of life so far.

Trips expands Airbnb’s offering by bringing together not only where the customer stays, but what they do and who they meet, focussing on three key areas: Experiences, Places, and Homes, with a Flights and Services function to be added in the future.

Trips aims to make people enjoy travel more by allowing easier immersion into the communities they’re visiting. They can gain access to interesting activities and events, discover hidden local gems, and socialize.

The Experiences segment of the new businesses launches with around 500 activities available in 12 cities, with another 39 cities set to start offering experiences. Places offers over a million recommendations from Airbnb’s hosts who recommend their own favourite places for guests to explore, and Homes continues to offer three million bookable homes to suit every type of person in 191 countries.

Trips also includes an Itinerary section for the Airbnb app, grouping together everything the traveller needs including easy booking of Experiences. It will eventually learn the user’s preferences and develop the ability to make personalised suggestions. The Airbnb Experiences Community now also has an extra identity authentication process whereby hosts and guests will be required to scan an official ID and take a selfie. The Trust & Safety measures will also be increased to enhance the experience for everybody.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, said: “Until now, Airbnb has been about homes. Today, Airbnb is launching Trips, bringing together where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet all in one place. We want to make travel magical again by putting people back at the heart of every trip.”