The Network is one of more than 50 upgrades revealed by the home-sharing platform this week, all designed to make Airbnb a “more personalised” app, including recommended destinations, suggested search filters, and personalised listing highlights, all based on past trips and search history.
According to Airbnb, the average rating of its co-hosts is 4.86 out of five, compared to a 4.62 average for large property management companies. Based off recent product releases, 73 per cent of co-hosts are Superhosts and 84 per cent of co-hosts help to manage a Guest Favourite – considered to be the highest quality homes on the Airbnb platform.
Co-hosts are recommended by a personalised ranking algorithm which lists the ideal co-hosts according to more than 80 factors, including location, hosting experience and home type, while profile and reviews will also be visible.
Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, said: “With the Co-Host Network, we’re taking the work out of hosting, Starting today, you provide the home, and we’ll provide an exceptional co-host.”
Chesky continued: “For decades, travel apps have been one-size-fits-all. We’re changing that today. With dozens of new features, this is the beginning of a more personalised Airbnb.”
Airbnb’s expansion into co-hosting, alongside branching out into other new products and services, had been hinted at by Chesky two months ago during the company’s second quarter earnings call.
Saying that the company would need to do “multiple new things”, Chesky said that the introduction of co-hosting would unlock untapped inventory and connect homeowners with no time to manage their listings with those who do.
The company positioned the offering as a way for Airbnb to grow its revenue by becoming known for doing more than just one thing — short-term vacation rentals.
Airbnb is also planning to reignite its ‘Experiences’ program next year, which includes immersive experiences such as tours and activities with hosts and / or locals. The company opted to put a pause on new Experiences submissions last spring so that it could re-divert its focus towards its core platform offerings, and it quietly reopened the application process for hosts to submit their listings to the platform last month.
Chief business officer Dave Stephenson recently told Bloomberg that Airbnb was aiming to expand beyond its core offering and diversify into “services that will make it better for guests to stay in Airbnbs”. The firm is reportedly considering adding luxury-style services such as personal chefs, massages, mid-stay cleaning, easier check-ins, spa services and refrigerator stocking in order to woo travellers back to short-term rentals from hotels, and Stephenson suggested that a formal announcement on the expansion could come “early next year”.
