In 2021, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said that the single biggest challenge for the renting company was thinking like a startup company, despite Airbnb's tremendous growth over the last ten years.
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the need to simplify and focus on surviving. Since then, Airbnb has added several new features.
Airbnb Prepares for Summer Travelers
On Wednesday, May 11, Airbnb continued its latest feature update. The biggest changes include a new search based on category, the ability to book two listings in one flow for stays over a week, and AirCover for Airbnb guests, which is Airbnb-provided travel insurance.
These new features work towards the two big goals for the company, according to Tech Crunch.
The first goal is to inspire the world to get back to travel. Chesky believes that a new era of travel is about to start, and the company is leaning into that.
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By reinventing search, the listings for longer-term travel automatically string together, which is growing increasingly popular. By protecting users under AirCover, Airbnb is opening the door for guests looking to get back out there safely.
Chesky said that "people are ready to dream again," and that a lot of people have been sequestered at home since 2020.
Many people have not taken that big trip for the first time, so they want to encourage people to get out of their houses and travel.
The second goal is more around the health of Airbnb. The company lives and dies by its hosts. Small operations with one, or maybe a few, properties, according to CNN.
Category search and split stays give hosts from all corners of the platform better visibility, whether or not they meet the specifications of a user's search.
Airbnb Categories Feature
The company released a new way to search by category. The home page just launched a search for one week and with flexible dates.
It also shows a scrolling bar at the top of the platform's new categories rather than the original search bar.
The new search includes types of homes like cabins, castles, A-frames, tiny homes, and in-home features like pools, creative spaces, and chef's kitchens. It also includes the location type like the beach, farm, or arctic, and even activity, like surfing, ski-in, or golfing.
Airbnb Split Stays Feature
Airbnb is also introducing a feature called split stays. The company's research shows that long-term stays are at an all-time high, more than doubling since 2020, according to CNBC.
To help accommodate this type of demand, Airbnb split stays allow its users to book trips and stay in two different listings, just in case neither of those listings is available for the duration of your stay.
Airbnb AirCover for Guests Feature
In 2021, Airbnb introduced its insurance product, AirCover, for hosts. It was meant to inspire even more individuals to join the platforms as hosts and list their property, guaranteeing coverage of any issues or damage.
In 2021, Airbnb blocked 50,000 bookings as part of the company's party ban.
In April, Airbnb announced that it is part of the "work from home forever" movement.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
