23 Sep 2014
Airbnb eyes share of wider travel market
BY Jak Phillips
Online spare room rental service Airbnb is poised to expand its travel offerings through an online marketplace that would enable locals to sell tours and a range of other experiences related to their city.
The plan, which is part of a strategy to build on Airbnb’s success in the accommodation market and transform the company into a hospitality firm, is one of several ways the US-based outfit is bidding to increase its share of traveller’s spending. As of the beginning of this year, Airbnb was operating in 34,000 cities across 192 countries, meaning the potential reach for this new marketplace is enormous.
“We think there’s huge opportunities for other services on top of accommodation,” Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky told The Sunday Telegraph “If I’m coming to London, what do I do in London? We think we have an opportunity to enhance your trip and enhance your experience.”
The fast-growing company recently attracted $500m (€389m £306m) in venture capital and has been reported to be trialling a number of new services outside of its core accommodation market, such as a service that would allow people to sell seats at their dinner table online.
In an interview for the Q1 2014 edition of Leisure Management magazine, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk outlined the company’s plans to conquer the Asian market with sustained investment across 2014.
“We’ve had properties in Asia for a long time, but for the first time we have critical mass and sustained growth and we’re going to continue to invest over there,” said Blecharczyk.
“It’s incredibly exciting to be doing things on a global scale and to realise that what you’re doing is not only helping individuals but also creating a macro economic trend – the sharing economy. It’s just amazing to be changing the world.”
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