Airbnb now lets you book chefs, spa days—and celebrity meetups
What's the story
Airbnb has launched a new feature enabling travelers to book services and experiences, such as massages, haircuts, chef-prepared meals, or participating in unique activities. The addition can be included in the stay package or booked separately. The move looks to capitalize on the massive traffic on Airbnb's website. CEO Brian Chesky disclosed during Airbnb's Q1 2025 call that over 1.5 billion devices accessed its service last year, which means there's a huge potential market for these new offerings.
Competition
Airbnb's new offerings to compete with other travel companies
The launch of services and experiences puts Airbnb in direct competition with other travel companies like Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Viator, GetYourGuide, and service providers like Yelp. To begin with, these services will be available across 10 categories including chefs, catering, prepared meals, photography, massages, spa treatment, personal training, hair, nails, and makeup. The services will be available in 100 cities globally across eight countries.
Unique experiences
Airbnb Originals: Exclusive experiences on the platform
Airbnb is also launching exclusive experiences on its platform, Airbnb Originals, as part of celebrity partnerships. These include pastry making at French Bastards bakery with chef Raphaelle Elbaz or playing beach volleyball with Olympian Carolina Solberg on Rio's Leblon Beach. Judson Coplan, VP of Product Marketing at Airbnb, said these offerings let users experience a city like a local and are natural extensions to home stays.
Revenue model
Airbnb's revenue model and quality checks
Airbnb will take a 15% cut from services and 20% from experiences. However, when searching or booking either category, users will see one price. Hosts in these categories will be verified and quality-checked based on their experience, online presence, education, and required licenses. This way, the services offered are intended to be of high quality and reliability.
Social integration
Upcoming social features and AI integration
Airbnb is also gearing up to introduce social features later this year. While the app already has a group messaging feature for planning trips, it plans to add a group chat feature for those who have shared an experience together. Airbnb is also leveraging AI for customer service. Chesky introduced an AI-powered customer service agent earlier this month that provides answers within the chat, marking a major step in integrating artificial intelligence into Airbnb's operations.