Airbnb has announced new features designed to help users connect with fellow travelers during shared activities. The company is also improving its search function by suggesting properties you might have missed due to your filters. Additionally, the Maps view has been redesigned to allow users to search for nearby points of interest such as landmarks, attractions, and restaurants.
Earlier this year, Airbnb launched Experiences, which are activities like cooking classes and guided tours that travelers can book and enjoy together. The company had previously indicated its intention to foster more connections between travelers through its app. It is now releasing several features to support this goal.
When you book an experience, you will be able to see the names of other participants and where they are from. After the event concludes, you can connect with people you met to exchange photos or make further plans. This is done through the app’s chat feature after sending a message request. Users will also find the people they have met in a new Connections tab on their profile.
Airbnb stated that it has carefully considered privacy, giving users full control over their shared information. During the booking process for an experience, a pop-up will ask if you want to share your profile picture, name, and hometown. If you dismiss this prompt, the app defaults to not sharing this information. In that case, others will only see the picture and initials you have chosen to display.
The company also noted that users can always block and report others if they feel uncomfortable, and a community team will review these reports. You can also remove a connection even after accepting a request.
During its summer release in May, the company previewed these features with the goal of increasing user interaction, which could lead to more bookings for both properties and experiences. However, the company will also need to manage the moderation challenges common to any chat-based social platform.
As part of its winter release, Airbnb is introducing a new search experience designed to show properties that fall just outside a user’s specified criteria. The search results will now include three new scrollable lists. The first list shows properties slightly above your chosen price range. The second list shows properties that may lack some of your selected amenities, like a pool. The third list shows properties in nearby locations that otherwise meet your criteria.
The company explained that it observed users frequently adjusting their search parameters to view different properties and sometimes even booking ones outside their initial constraints. This new search experience proactively shows some of those alternative properties.
Airbnb is also enhancing its maps view, which will now display points of interest around your location, including landmarks, attractions, and restaurants. Tapping on these places reveals a description and their distance from your rental property or a location you are considering. This is potentially another move to encourage more frequent use of the Airbnb app during travel.
The travel technology company stated earlier this year that it was rolling out an AI-powered assistant for customer service in the United States. With this latest release, the assistant is expanding to Mexico and Canada, with support for English, Spanish, and French.
The company said the assistant will now provide more detailed answers based on your profile, history, and reservation details. Furthermore, the app will now offer users quick action cards within the chat for common tasks like cancellations or date changes.