Airbnb is evolving the way it connects guests with the cities they are visiting.
During a keynote address Tuesday in Los Angeles, CEO Brian Chesky highlighted the company’s humble roots as a room-sharing website that utilizes air mattresses, to its current iteration as the premiere home-sharing service in the world.
But Chesky says the Airbnb its millions of users are used to has undergone a major facelift, highlighting the future of the company moving forward.
“Seventeen years ago, we changed the way people travel, and today, we are changing travel again,” Chesky said.
Beginning Tuesday, Airbnb won’t just be for booking overnight stays in a stranger’s home. Now, the company has rolled out a bevy of new features that Chesky says will better connect guests with their host city and the professionals that call it home.
Among the new features, Airbnb users can book special services delivered right to their borrowed door. Private chefs, pre-made meals, makeup artists, photographers, massages, personal trainers can all be booked in advance to provide guests something that hotels have often offered but Airbnb was unable to match.
They are vetted and verified, many coming from renowned and highly respected local businesses, Chesky said.
But Chesky says these new features aren’t limited just to Airbnb guests; they can be booked at any time by anyone in their own city. It’s a new level of connectivity that makes it easier for users book local services too.
Services are currently available in 260 cities.
In addition to services, Chesky highlighted another new feature which he says will help travelers connect with new or old cities on a deeper level.
“You go to Google, and you type in ‘best things to do in Paris.’ And this is what you get — a long list of websites offering the same tourist activities,” Chesky said as part of an interactive demonstration.
Tailored experiences, a departure from the typical tourist go-tos, is at the heart of the new Airbnb feature.
A motorcycle sidecar tour in Paris, a Ramen-making experience with a master chef in Tokyo, even a one-on-one training session with a masked luchador wrestlers in Mexico City.
“These are quite literally some of the best experiences in the world, and they’re only on Airbnb,” Chesky said.
Chesky says these experiences will give Airbnb users a better chance to see cities from the perspective of the people who live and work there. Like services, the Airbnb exclusive experiences can also be booked by locals.
Some of these new experiences are hosted or crafted by celebrities, including rappers Doechii and Megan Thee Stallion, who were in the audience, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“You can spend a Sunday with Patrick Mahomes. And what do you do with him? You learn to throw the perfect spiral, and you can eat his favorite Kansas City barbecue,” Chesky said.
Another wrinkle: Airbnb users will be able to connect and stay in contact with other users who shared the same experience. You can see how many other people have booked the same shared experience with you, including where they are traveling from, and stay in contact with them if you really hit it off.
“This is a really cool way to go on a social experience and meet people from all over the world,” Chesky said.
Experiences are available through Airbnb in 650 cities.
The new Airbnb app is revitalized and reimagined to make it easier for users and hosts to see all their bookings, experiences and services in one place.
It’s all part of a wider goal to redefine Airbnb for daily life, not just travel. “Now you can Airbnb more than an Airbnb,” Chesky said.
The new app, as well as its experiences and services, are available now.
Rich Demuro contributed to this story and will feature the announcement in the latest segment of “Rich on Tech.”