Airbnb launches new venture Trips in Cape Town

Yesterday, Airbnb unveiled the most significant development in its eight-year history as it moves beyond accommodation with the launch of Trips. Trips launches today with three key areas - Experiences, Places and Homes. Flights and Services will be added in the future.

Having already focused on accomodation, Airbnb is taking this same people-focused approach to the rest of the trip and, in doing so, providing a way for people to make money from their passions and interests.

Cape Town, South Africa is one of the first 12 cities to launch Airbnb trips globally. Other cities among the first to launch trips include LA, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Havana, London, Paris, Florence, Tokyo and Seoul. 

“Until now, Airbnb has been about homes,” said Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO. “Today, Airbnb is launching Trips, bringing together where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet all in one place. We want to make travel magical again by putting people back at the heart of every trip.”

Experiences are designed and led by local experts, e.g. Samurai Swordplay workshop learning about and driving classic cars in Malibu.

From today, budding hosts in those and a further 39 cities worldwide can request to list their Experience.

A number of Experiences will also be available where guests can give something back to communities through non-profit organisations. In Detroit for example, Khali Sweeney provides an opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at his Downtown Boxing Gym that provides local children with an after-school program of healthy snacks, homework time, and boxing lessons.

With three million homes available to book across 191 countries, Airbnb offers a unique range of unique accommodation options for travellers which will now be available to book alongside Experiences in available cities.
 

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