The Airbnb app just got a massive redesign here are 3 new features to look out for

Date:
Tue, 13 May 2025 18:30:00 +0000

Description:
Services and experiences!

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Airbnb has been a disruptor since it hit the scene in 2007. Now, at its
annual Summer Release event, its redesigning its app to make navigating
easier and ultimately leveling up what you might expect from a stay at one of its many properties worldwide.

For instance, while you get a bit more space with an Airbnb, you might lose out on some amenities, be it a gym, an attached restaurant, or even some self-care. The tech company's answer is dubbed Airbnb Services, essentially a way to book a service like a massage, a haircut, or even a chef to arrive at wherever youre staying.

That aims to fill in the missing gap of what you might get from a hotel, but it also gives you, the visitor, a bit more control, with the option of
looking through the available options and picking the ones that fit your
needs the most.

Similarly, Airbnb Experiences aims to replace the mundane with memorable, allowing you to book activities from locals in the cities where you stay to get the most out of them. These seem especially fun, and at a launch event, Airbnb certainly brought out the talent to up this.

Then, tying this all together is a redesign app that looks a lot easier to navigate and acts more like a helpful companion. If you have a stay booked,
as well as services or experiences, it can bundle them as an itinerary for you, listing important reminders. 1. Book a haircut, massage, or a catered meal with Services (Image credit: Airbnb)

Services seem like the most approachable addition, and probably one of the most requested. Rather than finding out if the host approves of a
third-party, Airbnb handles the vetting and will offer 10 categories of services at launch. Those include chefs, photographers, massages, spa treatments, personal training, hair treatments, makeup, nails, prepared
meals, and catering.

Itll launch in 260 cities across the globe at first and lives directly in the Airbnb app there is an entire services category at the top, and after you book a location, or are considering, you can see recommended services.

Airbnb is vetting the service providers and promises that each has around 10 years of experience in the respective industry. Additionally, each instructor or provider has to go through a verification process and list out applicable trainings or certifications. (Image credit: Airbnb)

Services will start at $50 in the US (were waiting for exact starting prices to be confirmed in the UK and Australia, but that converts to around 40 / AU$80) and are rolling out now. Airbnb is also encouraging providers to apply to become hosts for services on the platform.

The real kicker here, though, and one that potentially could have TaskRabbit concerned, is that you dont need to book an Airbnb home for a stay to use Services or Experiences (more on this in a bit).

If you need a photographer for a birthday party or a shower, you could fire
up Airbnb on your iPhone or Android phone, look through reviews, and hire a professional. Same for a hibachi chef for a girls' night out at an Airbnb or in your own home or for a caterer specializing in soup dumplings. 2. Memorable moments dubbed Experiences (Image credit: Airbnb)

Next to Services up-top in the Airbnb app will be Experiences with a hot-air balloon icon. And similar to the 'Icons' homes that Airbnb lets folks enter
to win a stay in like the house from Up or the control room from Inside Out Experiences is a bit more pie-in-the-sky, in the best way possible.

These are unique activities run by folks from where youre staying that aim to let you really immerse yourself in the locale. It could be a cooking class or a dining experience, but rather than just a meal at a restaurant, its interactive and potentially led by a Michelin-star chef, or you can freshen your wardrobe with a celebrity stylist. (Image credit: Airbnb)

Similarly, rather than just visiting a historical place, you can be led through the site with a dedicated historian or take a workout class with an expert in that specific field. The idea is to have true experts for a more compelling, well, experience.

Experiences will be launched in 650 cities worldwide, and Airbnb says that will be expanding. There will also be a higher tier dubbed Airbnb Originals, which the company promises could lead you to eating barbecue with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City or playing volleyball with an Olympian. Theres no word on pricing for these, but I suppose these might be more similar to Airbnb Icons, in that you enter for the chance to use these.

More likely, youll find yourself with the more standard Airbnb experiences, which aim to be more than just standard. 3. App redesign (Image credit: Airbnb)

Helping to make all of these more appealing, and honestly more integrated
into the booking of an Airbnb maybe a beach bungalow, a fancy loft, or a classic cabin the app is also getting smarter in some key ways. The layout aims to make this flow a bit easier, and for the app to act as a companion serving up reminders and suggestions.

The biggest change, though, is that Airbnb now allows users to search for properties worldwide alongside the best services and experiences all in one place. Under the hood, Airbnb says its built an entire new tech stack that adds capacity for these new offerings and sets up a large runway for the future.

And I think that hints at the broader play here Airbnb doesnt want to be an app you open once or twice a year for a big vacation or trip. Rather, its there and is an app with more tools in its chest, allowing you to book more casual everyday services but also more memorable ones, whether youre on the
go or for a staycation.

Carolina Milanesi, President and Principal Analyst at Creative Strategies, told TechRadar, Expanding into services makes a great deal of sense as it allows for a richer experience than the stay itself and can certainly add to it by adding a more visceral component to the stay say you are using a personal trainer while you travel or organizing a photographer for your girls reunion weekend. The option of booking even when you are not staying shows they are trying to expand and deepen the relationship with a customer by having multiple touch points through the year.

It certainly adds up, and this could grow Airbnbs user base as well. Were going hands-on with the new app, and maybe even an experience or two soon, so well report back with more. But if youre keen to give it a go, update to the latest version of the Airbnb app now. You might also like United Airlines
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/software/the-airbnb-app-just-got-a-massive -redesign-here-are-3-new-features-to-look-out-for


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