Instead of just beds, now also chefs or photographers: Airbnb reinvents itself

Eighteen years ago, a few unemployed friends in San Francisco had a crazy idea: To earn extra money, they offered tourists the opportunity to stay in their apartments on air mattresses instead of in a hotel. "Airbed and Breakfast" was born, and after some initial difficulties, the idea proved to be enormously disruptive: Within just a few years, Airbnb revolutionized the global travel industry. Today, more than 5 million hosts worldwide list their accommodations on the website, and 200 million guests have booked 2 billion overnight stays. Airbnb is now worth more on the stock market than the Hilton and Hyatt hotel groups combined.

But the platform is also under pressure: increasingly strict regulations in cities such as Montreal, New York and Barcelona are threatening the business .

For years, Brian Chesky—co-founder, CEO, and the face of the platform—has been pondering how the platform could reinvent itself. On Tuesday, he presented the results of these deliberations in Los Angeles.

"Hotels have had an advantage over Airbnb so far," said Chesky as he stepped onto the stage in his trademark black muscle shirt, with several hundred invited guests, including Hollywood stars, influencers, and musicians, in front of him. "They can offer services to guests. But what if we bring massages and chefs to Airbnb in the future?"

That's exactly what Chesky is planning now. Starting immediately, Airbnb customers can book not only overnight stays but also service providers—fitness trainers, photographers, and chefs—through the platform, as well as tourist activities such as city tours with the architect responsible for the renovation of Notre Dame Cathedral or matcha classes in Tokyo. An army of researchers has been reviewing the track records and qualifications of the new providers over the past few months, it is said.

Similar to overnight stays, Airbnb earns from bookings: 20 percent from experiences, 15 percent from services. In return, the platform offers insurance coverage. Airbnb plans to invest $200 to $250 million in new offerings and partnerships over the course of the year.

Airbnb has been leaving a lot of money on the table, explains Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and head of strategy, in an interview with the NZZ. Studies show that tourists spend three times as much on food and activities during their vacations as they do on accommodation. Airbnb tried to get a piece of this budget back in 2016, when it first launched its so-called Experiences.

But this was done half-heartedly, Blecharczyk admits – there was hardly any quality control of the providers, and booking was complicated. They now want to change that with a complete overhaul of the app: services and activities will in future be advertised just as prominently as overnight stays. For the app overhaul, Chesky collaborated with the design firm of Apple designer Jony Ive; Chesky has long been a big fan of the Apple corporation.

To draw attention to the new offering, Airbnb has also won over celebrities as partners for its “Airbnb Originals” offering: The well-known quarterback Patrick Mahomes, for example, shows users American football tricks in his hometown of Kansas City, and in Rio de Janeiro you can book a volleyball lesson with a Brazilian Olympian.

This is likely an attempt by the platform to differentiate itself from the competition. After all, providers like Viator and Get Your Guide have been offering similar experiences for years.

In the future, Airbnb also wants to tap into a completely new customer segment: people who don't travel at all. All of the services and experiences can also be booked in your hometown, with the providers coming to your home.

In the long term, the goal is to become a "platform for connections," says Blecharczyk. This also means creating a dedicated social network: In the future, Airbnb will allow you to stay in touch with anyone you've met while traveling or participating in activities and share photos. To avoid stalking, Blecharczyk says, you'll also be able to set your profile to "private."

Airbnb is also apparently considering building a long-term online verification service. After all, Airbnb has a wealth of data from 200 million users, all of whom are proven to be real, Chesky said on stage. He showed an initial version of a virtual ID card that Airbnb users will use to identify themselves in the future. The hope, Chesky said, is that this ID card will one day be viewed "almost like a passport." However, this would likely be difficult to implement.

In a next step, artificial intelligence will play a key role on the platform: initially in customer service, later in travel planning. Chesky is likely to be advised by Sam Altman, who is not only one of the leading minds in artificial intelligence but also a close friend of Chesky's. When Altman unexpectedly lost his position as CEO of Open AI in 2023, Chesky, with his good connections, ensured that Altman quickly regained the job.

AI is extremely well-suited for customer service, says Airbnb: After all, AI speaks every language, is available 24/7, and can search the documentation of any property in seconds. In the long term, Chesky also wants to integrate AI into the Airbnb app's search function. His vision is an artificially intelligent super-concierge who knows users so well that he can plan their entire vacation. "In the long term, travel will change enormously."

The complete overhaul of Airbnb is Chesky's brainchild. The 43-year-old has long been the face of the company—and the one who sets its direction. Blecharczyk, as chief strategy officer, rarely appears in the company's external presence. The third member of the team, Joe Gebbia, left Airbnb years ago and is now even controversial internally because of his support for Elon Musk's efficiency authority, Doge.

"I found myself at a crossroads," Chesky said in a recent interview : retirement or starting over. With a personal fortune of $9 billion, Chesky could have easily done the former. He chose the latter. "We can accomplish even more."

The role model in all of this is Amazon: The company began as an online bookstore almost 30 years ago and is now the world's largest online retailer (and also the world's largest provider of cloud computing) as an "everything store." Chesky has long dreamed of Airbnb developing in a similar direction.

He told Wired that his long-term plan is to turn the company into a platform for hundreds of services, possibly including plumbing, guitar lessons, and tutoring. Airbnb also reportedly has plans for a rental car service. When asked about this, Blecharczyk said they could imagine partnerships with many companies, "except flights, we don't want anything to do with that."

Airbnb intends to take its usual 15 to 20 percent commission on all these offers. Chesky hopes to elevate the company to the Olympus of tech companies with trillion-dollar valuations. There's still a long way to go, however: Airbnb is currently valued at $85 billion on the stock market. But the company has proven that it can revolutionize the economy with crazy ideas.