Are Airbnb taking over the world or are Airbnb taking over the world, is what I ask you. The monstrous home-sharing company have become the go-to for when you wanna vacay, but also immerse yourself in the ~experience~ of wherever you’ve gone.
Not content with simply giving us people’s pads to crash in when we head o/s (or 2 hours outta town), the brand’s now launched a bunch of new offerings – the coolest of which is undoubtedly Beyond by Airbnb.
Basically, the site will offer a whole load of extremely swish properties that are fit for a King (or Justin Bieber). Think incredible architecture, huge sweeping spaces, ridiculous views… basically the kind of pads you dream of but can legit never afford in any lifetime. Except for a week or so.
Along with physical places, there’ll be custom experiences and full-on hospitality, like niche experiences (truffle hunting, anyone? Cooking with local chefs, you delightful wanker?) and extra TLC. Which is obviously the best thing ever.
Aside from Beyond by Airbnb, the site will become way more streamlined – you’ll be able to search for specific properties geared toward what you want via Airbnb Collections.
Think specific property groupings for people looking for romantico honeymoon hideaways, dudes weekends, etc etc. As someone who recently tried to find “extremely remote farm that’s also really cute and has a fireplace for me and my 5 friends to drink local wine around”, this excites me specifically.
One really cool new Collection? Social Stays – where you can find properties where the host will take you out, show you the sights, and generally hang out with you. Sounds like loserville but anyone who’s been travelling solo knows a local buddy is like gold.
Finally, there’s an op for folks who maybe can’t fathom dropping the kind of $$ needed to pick up an Beyond by Airbnb property, but still want their holiday spot to be at least a bit primo.
Airbnb Plus is like a tier above your usual Airbnb – all properties (there’ll be 2,000 around the globe as of today, with more to come – and yes, Sydney and Melbourne are already up and running) have been inspected and verified in person against a long checklist that covers everything from cleanliness to design. Basically, they’re guaranteed winners with some peak levels of swag about them.
Beyond Airbnb launches in Autumn our time, with Airbnb Plus and Collections live now.
Can you calm down, Airbnb? You’re making me tired with all this innovating and expanding.
