As part of a wider app update, Airbnb launched a new feature Tuesday that allows travelers to book services and experiences, such as getting a massage, haircut or preparing a chef, or attending certain events. Airbnb says these new products can be added to your accommodation, but can also be booked independently.

For example, you can book a tour in the city you are heading to, but you choose to stay elsewhere.

This is not the first time Airbnb has tried such a feature – it paused early experiences in 2023 to improve the core products of its core products. Now, the company once again wants customers to travel beyond planning.

The move is designed to take advantage of what Airbnb's website has received. During Airbnb's Q1 2025 conference call, CEO Brian Chesky said more than 1.5 billion devices visited its services last year, but noted that many people came to the site without booking a home.

It also makes Airbnb more directly compete with other travel companies such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Viator and Getyourguide, and service providers like Yelp.

Initially, Airbnb allows you to book 10 categories of services including chefs, dining, prepared meals, photography, massages, spa treatments, personal training, hair, nails and makeup. These services will be available in 100 cities around the world in eight countries.

Although users can take advantage of the services they live in, they usually have to head to the venue for an experience.

Initially, the experience will include cultural and museum tours; outdoor, water sports and wildlife experiences; food tours and cooking classes; art seminars and shopping experiences; and exercise, health and beauty experiences. The company is launching experience in 19 categories in 1,000 cities around the world.

Airbnb also launched exclusive experiences on its platform called Airbnb Originals, which involves celebrity partnerships. These include making pastries at a French bakery with chef Raphaelle Elbaz or playing beach volleyball with Olympia Carolina Solberg at Rio Leblon Beach.

“These experiences and services are a way to experience cities like locals. We think these are natural family extensions (accommodation). The greatness of Airbnb is that you can find unique accommodations that you can’t find anywhere else. We think about our new products in the same way,” said Judson Coplan, Vice President of Product Marketing at Airbnb, Airbnb oiverbnb techcrunch techcrunch techcrunch to n pern the Call a the Call.

Copeland believes that Airbnb's experience may inspire people to travel and do travel they may not have thought of. Additionally, he believes new products may lead people to discover new things in their own towns.

Airbnb will cut services by 15% and cut experience by 20%. However, users will only see one price when searching or booking any category. The company said moderators in these categories will pass verification and quality checks, including their experience, online influence, education and required licenses.

Airbnb's new app adds social drama

Adding services and experiences is part of a larger app update, in which improvements will be made to guests and host applications to accommodate new categories and other changes.

Guests will be able to explore and book from the accommodation, service and experience categories. And if the traveler has booked an upcoming trip, the app will suggest relevant experience or services. On the other hand, the host will have calendar and list features to help them manage bookings and products.

Airbnb is also preparing to launch social features later this year.

Today’s app has group messaging capabilities for travel planning, but it plans to add a group chat feature for those who experience together. This way, they can talk about experiences, share photos and videos, or make suggestions for another trip.

In turn, Airbnb hopes this can lead people to wanting to travel more and use their platform to do this.

The company said it is developing privacy features around these social connections to create a secure experience for users.

After launching the updated profile page last year, the social feature allows users to describe their lives more, including their lives, the language they speak, and other facts about themselves.

Copeland said the number of complete profiles on the platform increased by 15 times after the release.

“There’s a huge increase in many people who want to share more about themselves. For us, it’s a clue about travel,” he explained. “Whether it’s your host, the people you travel with, or the people you meet along the way. Especially at this moment, there’s a desire to connect with others.”

Extend customer service with AI

Coplan Chesky commented on how Airbnb uses AI to provide customer service and how its AI assistant will become a concierge service that can handle travel plans and inspiration over time.

Earlier this month, Chesky launched Airbnb's AI-powered customer service agent. Unlike bots that redirect users to previous versions of the articles, the Assistant now provides answers in the chat.

The robot will be available for English-speaking users in the United States and will be fully launched by the end of the market. Copeland told TechCrunch that later this year, the feature will be available for more countries and languages.

Over time, Airbnb will add more features to the AI ​​assistant, including personalized answers tailored to your travels and bookings, as well as online action buttons for taking quick actions, such as canceling a reservation.

Starting today, the updated Airbnb website and iOS and Android apps will be launched to all users around the world.