MUCH ADO ABOUT DOING
Airbnb has made “Experiences” —activities and excursions organized by hosts—a
major focus ahead of its IPO. In 2019, it rolled out these three categories:
ADVENTURES
These are multiday trips,
often with an outdoors
element, that include
meals, activities, and ac-
commodations; Airbnb’s
earlier Trips business fit
this model. Examples in-
clude an “Epic motorbike
trip through Vietnam”
(four days, $379/person)
and a “Malibu Beginner
Surf Camping Retreat”
(two days, $349/person).
Adventures made their
debut in June.
ANIMALS
These tours and activi-
ties involve interacting
with or observing crit-
ters. They’re operated
under safety guidelines
developed with the
nonprofit World Animal
Protection. Examples
include “Groom and walk
miniature ponies” (1.5
hours, $61/person)or
“Learn to Track Wild Ot-
ters in Cape Point” (2.5
hours, $59/person). It
launched in October.
COOKING
The newest category (it
was launched in Novem-
ber) focuses on culinary
activities involving
guest participation and
local recipes. Examples:
“Soba noodle making
in a traditional home”
(two hours, $23/per-
son); “Make Traditional
Vermont Maple Syrup”
(one hour, $25/person).
Guests get access to an
archive of 3,000 recipes
from 75-plus countries.
coping with a bad trip at airbnb
users. And Airbnb often doesn’t
have enough data to run such
checks.
Some of Airbnb’s new rules
went into effect in mid-Decem-
ber. The looming challenge is
“100% verification” of hosts and
listings, which the company aims
to achieve by the end of 2020.
That will entail the review of
photos, addresses, cleanliness,
basic amenities, and above all
the identity of hosts. Airbnb
says it will do this using human
review, technology, and “commu-
nity feedback”—with the latter
point suggesting that complaints
from guests will get more at-
tention. It will sometimes be
impossible to completely verify
information—particularly when
a brand-new host lists a property
for the first time. In that case,
Chesky says, the company will ex-
plicitly tell guests what it doesn’t
know—flagging that it’s a new
listing, without enough data.
Other changes address “bad
tenant” problems. Airbnb already
operates neighbor hotlines for
complaints in some cities: They
will soon be worldwide, avail-
able 24/7 and staffed by real
people rather than automated.
The hotlines are now live in the
U.S. and “will roll out globally”
in 2020, Airbnb says. A new
party policy will explicitly bar
open-invite parties and events,
as well as any large parties and
COURTESY OF AIRBNB
(^3
)
THE Y S AY
“DRESS FOR
THE JOB
YOU WANT.”
WE SAY
“READ THIS.”
CEO DAILY
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