The world’s largest accommodation platform, Airbnb, which turns 10 years old this year, says it plans new innovations which will put it on the path to more than a billion annual guests by 2028.
Airbnb says the roadmap to reaching its target includes four new property types and new tiers product tiers which the platform is marketing as “officially verified homes for quality and comfort, and hosts that go above and beyond – think the blue tick on Twitter”.
South Africa’s resort capital of Cape Town is one of 13 launch cities where 2,000 homes have been inspected and verified in person against a 100+ point checklist covering cleanliness, comfort and design.
Founded in 2008, Airbnb aims to economically empower millions of people around the world by offering their property as accomodation. Its marketplace gives access to places to stay in more than 191 countries, from apartments and villas to castles, treehouses and bed-and-breakfast guesthouses.
Over the last 10 years, Airbnb hosts have earned more than $41 billion, and guests have checked into Airbnb homes more than 300 million times. In Africa, the platform has surpassed 100,000 listings and brought over two million global guests to local homes.
“Ten years ago we never dreamed of what Airbnb could become. In fact, people thought the idea that strangers would stay in each other’s homes was crazy. Today, millions of people every night do just that,” Airbnb co-founder, CEO and head of community Brian Chesky said in a statement.
“But we want to go further by supporting and expanding our community so that in 10 years time, more than 1 billion people per year will experience the benefits of magical travel on Airbnb.”
The platform will also introduce “Airbnb Collections” which it is touting as homes for every occasion including weddings and honeymoons, in addition to launching a revamped superhost program and a new guest membership program later this year. (via African News Agency)
