Travellers may soon be able to book massages or order a private chef from the comfort of their Airbnb, as the accommodation rental site steps up its offering in its battle against hotels.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Airbnb’s chief business officer Dave Stephenson said the company wants to expand beyond accommodations and experiences to ‘services that will make it better for guests to stay in Airbnbs’ to entice travellers to move away from hotels.
Services could range from in-room massages, more frequent cleaning, easier check ins to spa services and fridge stocking prior to arrival and are likely to be launched next year.
Stephenson told Bloomberg his wife received a massage at their Paris Airbnb during the Olympic Games, a preview of what could come in the future as the company tries to identity what makes guests choose hotels over Airbnbs.
In May, during the company’s most recent earnings call, Airbnb founder and CEO Brian Chesky said that some people believe “hotels are historically a more consistent experience.”
“If we can just get one of those travelers from hotels to stay in an Airbnb, that would double our size,” Chesky told analysts.
Airbnb boomed after the post-Covid lockdown liftings, capitalising on its ability to offer socially-distanced travel, something which hotels struggled to do.
However, the swing back to hotels came in recent years with guests disgruntled with Airbnb’s hidden fees and check-out cleaning chores.
Many hotels have also launched self-catering lodges on site to provide for those guests looking for a more self-contained stay with the added luxury of hotel services.
By Zoe Monk
