Airbnb’s Big Changes for Your Best Travel Bookings Yet

The global travel platform Airbnb is turning ten this year, and the hosting site is ringing in its first decade with four big announcements. Known for worldwide local home hosting, and its recent launch of hosted experiences in various cities, Airbnb is bringing more features to its home categories and offerings, promising new benefits to both its guests and hosts.

New Property Types

For the wide range of homes it hosts, Airbnb’s filters have been limited to three choices: shared space, private room, and entire homes. But coming this summer, guests will get to choose from four additional property types: B&B, boutique properties, vacation homes, and one-of-a-kind spaces like the forest tower above. According to Airbnb, “this will give 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 guests’ preferences.” 

Collections

Airbnbs aren’t just used for a quick crash pad while you’re on a trip in a foreign city anymore. They’re the backdrops for weddings or dinner parties, they’re vacation spots for the entire family, and they’re your go-to source for somewhere to stay on a last-minute business trip. Airbnb is now creating Collections with those use cases in mind, with two live now, Family and Work. Coming later this year will be collections for Social Stays, Weddings, Honeymoons, Group Getaways, and Dinner Parties.

Plus and Beyond

Looking for the best of the best rentals? Airbnb’s new Plus category will identify a new top tier of homes, verified by Airbnb for comfort and quality experience against a 100+ point checklist ranging from cleanliness and comfort to design. So far, the category is live in thirteen cities across the globe, including L.A. and San Francisco. Homes like these will appear at the top of searches and receive in-home services like expert photography and design consultation.

Airbnb also acquired Luxury Retreats last year, and those properties will be included in Airbnb through a tier called “Beyond by Airbnb.” Launching in spring, the tier will offer custom created trips that include luxury homes and experiences.

Superhost and Superguest

Seeing that a listing has a Superhost is a great way to identify a great spot to stay. Airbnb has 400,000 hosts across the globe, and those Superhosts will enjoy more benefits in that program, including benefits on smart home products. Later this year, guests will also be able to qualify as a Superguest, a new membership program that will give users benefits across their trip. This summer, 10,000 guests will test out the membership level before it reaches the rest of the Airbnb community.