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Airbnb has tried to do "experiences" so many times I've lost count. Here's the one where they partnered with Vayable, all the way back in 2011: https://techcr
by drizzzler 10y ago
Airbnb has tried to do "experiences" so many times I've lost count.
Here's the one where they partnered with Vayable, all the way back in 2011:
https://techcrunch.com/2011/12/02/airbnb-to-partner-with-vayable-to-upsell-travel-experiences-to-renters/ https://techcrunch.com/2011/12/02/airbnb-to-partner-with-vay...
- venantius 10y agoThis is different. I work at Airbnb - we've been working on what was announced today for quite some time, and it has been our intent to fully own and provide an Airbnb-branding-appropriate offering.
- hamitron 10y agoa clearly un-biased viewpoint
- venantius 10y agoI mean, at least I was clear about that up front :)
- nolite 10y agoyour site has a multi-country select list to get the app via sms, but the button validation only allows American number formats.... argh...
- rorykoehler 10y agoWhat were your motivations for this? It seems like the opposite experience of what I use Airbnb for. If people were after hand holding tourism it's unlikely they'd be using airbnb. Does this signal a shift in strategy away from what made us all start using airbnb in the first instance?
- Fuzzwah 10y agoFrom what I learned about AirBnB's origin story via an episode of NPR's How I Built This [1], the original idea of AirBnB was a kind of "stay somewhere with a local and experience the place not as a tourist" experience. The fact that this kind of idea never went away even when everyone else found that AirBnB fullfilled a different requirement doesn't surprise me. [1] http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
- ryhamz 10y agoRight. The original idea is now trashed. Airbnb doesn't care if someone is operating a 20 bunk bed dorm room that they don't actually live in, as long as they get a cut. It couldn't get further from living like a local; it's just an AirBnHostel.
- prawn 10y agoIn some cases. In others, you can stay with others, or rent an entire house in a small village, or rent something crazy, etc. Airbnb has its faults, but there are loads of options on there.
- pmh 10y agoTo expand a little on my sibling (prawn's) comment, I don't think the original idea is trashed, but travelers do have more options now. I've stayed at an "AirBnHostel" as well as "AirBnVacationHomes", but most of the time, I've stayed with hosts who like to hang out and share their city/lives. It's relatively simple to discern which type of AirBnB you're getting from the host's description, and from the cities I've rented in (granted, mostly popular/populous destinations), there's plenty of choice between the types.
- personlurking 10y agoStrange. I mean, we only have our own experiences to go by, but every time I've used Airbnb (throughout Europe) it's always been with a host who doesn't live there and shows no desire nor feels any obligation to show their city (much less talk) to the traveler outside of handing-off the keys. Even when their profile might say differently. They were all way more Hotel than Hospitality Club, so to speak.
- dominotw 10y agocan you expand on 'Airbnb-branding-appropriate offering' , sounds like marketing speak. what does 'this is different' mean in practical terms.