Are you at 2016 airbnb open in Los Angeles? Brian Chesky announced experiences and the new Trip Platform. I’m doing videos on Facebook but will try to write recaps here.
Summary
This text will be hidden
2 Likes
Here is one of the new Trip offerings in the Los Angeles area. Thoughts? Or maybe it’s one of their tour guide things? Yes, that’s what it is.
The new experiences are a great addition to Air I think. I’ve been shooting photo and video for several of them over the past month as a freelancer, and so I’ve got a real insight into what they’re about. They’re mainly a fun social outing with food and drink in a small group but you get to learn or do something interesting too. A regular tour wouldn’t have that social aspect. I think it’s a great extra earner for hosts who have something they can teach or involve others in, I’m considering hosting a photography experience where I live.
There are some interesting offerings for sure. And it’s going to appeal to that certain type of traveler who wants things planned out. These outings aren’t cheap, but I’m sure there are lots of people willing to pay.
I’m a “low end” Airbnb host who attracts the budget conscious, which I realize most Air guests are, but mine are even more so I think. I always like to suggest Meetup because it’s free and the events are closer to where I host so the guests don’t have to drive or figure out public transportation.
I had one recent guest who was doing Meetup AND Tinder. She was VERY busy 
1 Like
I had one recent guest who was doing Meetup AND Tinder. She was VERY busy
[Here’s what I posted in another thread that was inactive.]
For an overview of the announcements, see:
For an edited version of Brian Chesky’s keynote, see:
For an unedited version of the livestream (start at minute ~52, brief reference to homes at ~1hr, 30min), see:
They announced a bunch of features that extend their marketplace into other kinds of travel offerings such as guided tours and restaurant reservations. Unfortunately, as best as I can tell Chesky didn’t announce anything for their core business: home sharing. He did toss to a short promo video that seemed to focus on how the app has added things like car rentals, grocery delivery and other features that will be of little value to hosts. Given that most of their $30 billion dollar valuation is a function of home sharing, it was odd that it was such an afterthought. So far, the only noteworthy bit of good news is the app has improved messaging and calendar functions. Yawn.
In other news, NY and SF just announced further crack downs on regulating Airbnb. Seems like maybe they should invest more in lobbying and other efforts to move out of the legal gray-zone and a bit less in new “experiences.”
1 Like
A member of Airbnb staff directly told me they don’t want to see hosts with too many listings …
1 Like
I am wondering if any mention was made in the Open of applying the Italy policies to everyone. I guess that would be kind of a downer.
Regarding the Trips, how about insurance? What if someone gets injured during one of the Trips. Who is responsible? I think anyone who offers to host a Trip without thinking of this or taking out a special kind of policy is asking for trouble.
In Hawaii, there are a zillion commercial guided tours, including a boat that takes you to the lava flows or zip lines across waterfalls. Not one of those would accept guests who didn’t sign a waiver.
3 Likes
With trips they might be moving into another grey zone.
I my country for example you would need a seperate license.
I have a licence for a B&B but I do not have a licence to take people on a tour, I even have to get a seperate taxi licence if I want pick up people from the airport.
I also wonder if AirBnB has said anything about liabilities and insurances.
2 Likes
We have a procedure here in Long Beach, CA for nuisance barking that involves calling Animal Control who then contacts the offender. After that, if complaints continue, you go on to step 2 that involves some legal stuff. Do you have this where you are? Have you lodged complaints?
They have have to do this because there will more than likely be accidents, especially for the more active types of outings like surfing.
1 Like
Whether or not Chesky had anything new to implement for hosts is not really important; and it’s even less important whether it concerned entire-house hosting or shared because hosts are coming out of the woodwork. No need to advertise.
What he’s pushing are services that will expand the scope of Airbnb and make the corporation more money. The grocery ordering and car rental would be great for the higher end places I suppose; but for many of us it’s sort of humorous because I have guests showing up with backpacks and yoga mats.
1 Like
I totally agree. I actually laughed when she said it
No Kona no mention of any of that. It’s all
About new exciting stuff.
I know that car rentals, grocery delivery, meal delivery, restaurant reservations would be huge hits with the guests I host.
I agree. If it enhances the Airbnb experience, then that means more happy Airbnb guests - therefore more profitable, happy hosts 
1 Like
How hard is it to rent a car today? How hard is it to book a flight? What is Airbnb’s advantage in offering these services? Those additions are not going to change our bottom line as hosts.
The current Airbnb platform is okay but needs lots of work. The site interface is a mess for hosts. The variable rate pricing is mediocre. The calendar is seriously underpowered for anyone managing multiple listings. And so on. Getting their core infrastructure working better isn’t as sexy as sword fighting classes but it’s where the money is for hosts (and for the foreseeable future, for Airbnb).
All this hoopla about cars, planes and groceries is a fairy tale on the eve of their IPO to convince Wall Street that they can keep growing quickly. Until their core product gets better, I’m not buying it.
3 Likes
It would be a huge hit with me if the guests would use Airbnb for car rentals, grocery delivery and restaurant reservations instead of expecting me to organize these things for them. We find that we need to draw maps from our house to everywhere the guests want to go despite that fact that these places are in our Guidebook.
I think a big plus can be on the activities offered by hosts. But no information regarding insurance…
So true!! I can see it now…
If any member of your group gets sick, then you will receive 100% refund from your host, the airlines, the grocery store, the car rental service, tour trips, etc. - I think when a company cannot even communicate new changes to their front line staff, and train their front line to even understand their own company policies…it’s probably not time to take on more fairy tales.
2 Likes