Airbnb targets long-term rentals and aims for eventual expansion ‘beyond travel’
Change is on the horizon for Airbnb and its customer base, with the multipurpose travel app looking to incorporate longer-term rentals and add “beyond travel” experiences.
Airbnb is most known for its convenient travel accommodation planning and bookings, but this could soon change.
Next month could bring the “biggest update to Airbnb ever,” chief executive Brian Chesky told the Financial Times.
While he considered travel to be Airbnb’s “sweet spot,” he said: “Eventually the big frontier for Airbnb is to go beyond travel” and said he would ultimately like Airbnb to become a tool that is used daily.
As flexibility working has become part of the post-pandemic world, Chesky told the paper that long-term rentals could be a “huge opportunity” for the firm.
“In this post-pandemic world, there’s this . . . unrecognised market of a month, two months, three months, because people can work from laptops, people are going away for the summer,” he told the FT.
The “beyond travel” plans include an expansion of its housing offerings, trip experiences and more additional considerations for rentals and dining, Chesky said.
Pivoting to car rentals would be the “next best thing” as well, he said, as vehicles are “the second biggest asset” in someone’s daily life.
Future upgrades to the app aren’t completely new, as this year has brought nearly 50 new features already.
Cities around the world have been introducing regulation to stimy the short-term rental market as rents rise and locals are pushed out of homes.
On Monday Florence joined the likes of Vienna, Paris, Berlin and New York City in introducing stricter rules on short-term rentals.