The future of Airbnb: Airbnb unveils roadmap to 1bn guests

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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 programme and a new guest membership programme launching later this year

Airbnb Co-Founder, CEO and Head of Community, Brian Chesky said, “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 one billion people per year will experience the benefits of magical travel on Airbnb.”

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 three 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 four new property types to its platform - vacation home, unique space, B&B and boutique. This will give a 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 guest preferences. From today, Airbnb is making tools available to hosts to categorise their listings to an unprecedented level of detail in the travel industry, not only making it possible to organise everything by these seven core property types, but also opening the door to sophisticated search capabilities that will allow any traveller to find the host and home that’s right for them. All seven property types will launch to guests this summer.

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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 travellers, Airbnb is launching Collections - perfect homes for every occasion. Launching today is 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 recognise hosts who go above and beyond to provide outstanding hospitality, Airbnb is launching a new tier of homes on Airbnb that have been personally verified for quality and comfort. Starting with 2,000 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.

Beyond by Airbnb

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.

Investing in the Airbnb community

Hosts and guests are the heart of Airbnb. Through its Superhost programme, which now includes 400,000 hosts globally, Airbnb already recognises its most loved hosts. It has announced an expansion of the programme to offer 14 new and updated benefits including better exposure, custom 'urls' and exclusive benefits on smart home products.

Later this year, Airbnb will also recognise its best guests with a new guest membership programme 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.

The announcement is driven by Airbnb’s commitment to being 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.