As part of a wider app update, Airbnb introduced new features on Tuesday that allow travelers to book services and experiences, including massages, haircuts, chef-prepared meals and participating in activities. These new products can be added to your stay, but you can also book independently, Airbnb says.
For example, you can book tours in the city you travel to, but the company suggests that it is a place you have chosen to stay elsewhere.
This is not the first time Airbnb has tried this feature. We paused the experience for the early version of 2023 to improve our stay core services. Now, the company is hoping that customers will go more than they plan their trip again.
The move aims to leverage the traffic that Airbnb sites already receive. During Airbnb’s first quarter 2025 call, CEO Brian Chesky said the service had over 1.5 billion devices accessed last year, but noted that many people would not come to the site and book a home.
Airbnb will also become more direct in competition with other travel agencies such as Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Viator, GetYourGuide, and service providers such as Yelp.
Initially, Airbnb allows you to book services in 10 categories, including chefs, catering, preparations, photos, massages, spa treatments, personal training, hair, nails, makeup, and more. The service is offered in 100 cities around the world in 8 countries.
Users are available to the service they are staying in, but usually they must travel to the venue for an experience.
Initially, the experience includes tours of culture and museums. Outdoor, water sports, wildlife experiences. Food tours and cooking classes. Art workshops and shopping experiences. Workouts, wellness, beauty experiences. The company has started experience in 19 categories in 1,000 cities around the world.
Airbnb is launching an exclusive experience on a platform called Airbnb Originals, which includes celebrity partnerships. These include pastry making at chef Rafael Elbaz and French Busters Bakery, as well as Olympian Carolina Solberg and beach volleyball at LeBron Beach, Rio.
“These experiences and services are a way to experience cities like the locals. I think these are natural extensions to your home (stay). The great thing about Airbnb is getting unique accommodations you won’t find anywhere else.
Coplan believes that the Airbnb experience may encourage people to travel and take trips they may not have thought about. Additionally, he believes that new products could lead to people discovering new things in their towns.
Airbnb is reduced by 15% from service and 20% from experience. However, users will see one price when searching or booking either category. The company says hosts in these categories will pass validation and quality checks, including experience, online presence, education and required licenses.
Airbnb’s new app adds social play
The addition of services and experiences is part of a major app update that is being refined to accommodate both guest and host apps.
Guests can explore and book by category of stay, service and experience. Additionally, if a traveler has already booked a trip that has already been booked, the app will suggest relevant experiences and services. On the other hand, the host has calendar and listing features that help you manage your bookings and offerings.
Airbnb is also preparing to roll out social features later this year.
Today’s app has a group messaging feature for travel planning, but we plan to add a group chat feature for people who have gained experience together. That way they can talk about their experiences, share photos and videos, and create other travel recommendations.
Second, Airbnb hopes this will make people want to travel more and do so using that platform.
The company says it is developing privacy features around these social connections to create a secure experience for its users.
Social features followed the launch of the updated profile page last year, allowing users to explain more about themselves, including where they live, the language they speak, and other facts.
Coplan said that the number of completed profiles on the platform has increased by 15 times since its release.
“There’s been a huge increase in many people who wanted to share more about themselves. For us, it was a clue that travel was something about connection,” he explained. “Whether it’s your host, the person you travel with or meet along the way. Especially at this moment, there’s a desire to connect with others.”
Scaling customer service using AI
Coplan mirrored Chesky’s comments to point out how Airbnb uses AI to provide customer service and how over time AI assistants can become concierges who can handle travel planning and inspiration.
Earlier this month, Chesky introduced Airbnb’s AI-driven customer service agent. Unlike previous versions of bots that redirected users to support articles, the assistant provides answers within the chat.
The bot was initially available to US English-speaking users and will be fully deployed in this market by the end of the month. Later this year, the feature will be available in more countries and languages, Coplan told TechCrunch.
Over time, Airbnb says it will add more features to its AI assistant, including personalized answers tailored to your trip or booking, and inline action buttons to take quick actions such as canceling your booking.
The updated Airbnb website and iOS and Android apps are now deployed to all users worldwide from today.