For years, Airbnb has primarily operated as a platform that lets users book short-term stays in rooms, apartments, and homes owned by other users. Now, the company is expanding into hotel bookings while also adding services such as grocery deliveries.
The company said that users will be able to book thousands of boutique and independent hotels across major cities worldwide. These include cities such as New York, Madrid, and Singapore, with more locations coming throughout the year. According to the official press release, the company selected these hotels based on their neighbourhood locations, design, and hospitality.
Airbnb says the expansion will feature “hotels that feel like Airbnb”. The company also promises to price-match if users find the same hotel at a lower price elsewhere, although it will refund the difference in the form of credits. Speaking of credits, customers can also earn up to 15% in credits after reserving one of the featured hotels.
The company also announced an in-app grocery delivery feature through a partnership with Instacart. In selected cities, users can order groceries during their trip or have them delivered to their accommodation before they arrive.
It is worth noting that Airbnb guests in supported regions can receive free grocery deliveries, alongside a US$10 (~RM39) discount for orders worth US$50 (~RM198) or more. That said, these benefits currently appear to be limited to the US, as the company did not mention plans for a wider international rollout.
Even if the feature eventually arrives in Malaysia, local users may not receive the same discounts since Instacart currently does not operate in the country. Airbnb could still partner with a local grocery delivery platform, although the company has not announced anything on that front for now.
Moving on, the app will also introduce airport pickup services. Through a partnership with Welcome Pickups, drivers can track customers’ flights and meet them upon arrival. Unfortunately, while Airbnb says the feature is already available in 160 cities worldwide, the company did not specify which cities currently support it.
Airbnb has also partnered with luggage storage provider Bounce, allowing users to view nearby drop-off points directly within the app. Users can check how far these locations are from their accommodation and store their luggage if their rental is not ready for check-in.
Additionally, the platform will add car rentals later this year, showing available vehicles near users’ listings. First-time car rental users will also receive 20% credit back for their next stay.
The company is also expanding its Experiences lineup later in the years, adding thousands of new options across various categories. Among the highlights are experiences centred around major landmarks such as the Tokyo Skytree and the Taj Mahal. Moreover, Airbnb is also growing its food and culture-related offerings, alongside special FIFA World Cup experiences across six host cities, including watch parties featuring former champions.
Lastly, Airbnb is introducing several AI features to help booking and travelling be easier. One such feature is the AI review highlights which, as the name suggests, collates all relevant reviews for each listing and highlights important details such as location and amenities, among other things.
The built-in AI can also help users compare homes in their wishlist. The new comparison tool will generate AI summaries for each listing, although it will only be available later this year.
Airbnb is introducing a new shared itinerary feature to make group trip planning easier. A new map inside the Trips tab will display users’ bookings alongside nearby restaurants, experiences, and attractions, complete with estimated travel times from their accommodation. Users can save places of interest or add them directly to a shared itinerary so everyone in the group can plan together.
The company is also rolling out a new “Connections” feature and travel map. Users will be able to add friends and family as connections, then view where they have travelled using Airbnb and their upcoming trips.
Lastly, Airbnb is introducing a built-in AI assistant that supports 11 languages. The company says the assistant is aware of users’ trip details and includes interactive cards that “let you solve issues right in the chat”. The press release also notes that Airbnb plans to extend the assistant with voice capabilities later this year for faster responses.
(Source: Airbnb press release)