Airbnb Experiences: New Details Point to Direct Competition with Viator and GetYourGuide

Airbnb laid out elements of its plan for offering experiences in a sponsored post Tuesday, revealing a broad vision that includes mainstream landmarks and attractions.

Airbnb has been focusing on its core homes business since mid-2023, and has been readying a relaunch of Airbnb Experiences.

As part of the plan, it is also encouraging submissions from licensed tour guides and business operators.

Leaning into popular attractions — think of the Vatican and the Louvre — and professional tour guides and businesses is a departure from Airbnb's initial vision for experiences. Airbnb previously emphasized niche, one-of-a-kind tours and activities, often operated by hosts, and they sometimes revolved around off-the-beaten track activities.

Inclusion of popular tours and attractions in heavily touristed destinations puts Airbnb Experiences in competition with the leaders in the sector, Tripadvisor's Viator and GetYourGuide.

However, Airbnb, which has publicly stated that it will be providing more information about its experiences business in May, declined to comment Tuesday on the information in its sponsored post, which appeared in the Arival newsletter, a resource for experience brands and operators.

Rival GetYourGuide declined to comment, as well.

Airbnb Paused New Experiences in 2023

Airbnb launched experiences in 2016 and halted them during the pandemic. The company resumed experiences in 2022, but paused taking applications for new experiences in early 2023.

Airbnb doesn't break out financials for experiences — it lumps them together with nights — but it is widely believed that experiences never got great traction or materially contributed to its financials.

CEO Brian Chesky has repeatedly said that experiences were an integral part of his vision for Airbnb, and were positioned for a breakout year in 2020. But that never happened because of the pandemic.

In public comments over the past few months, Airbnb has said that its relaunched experiences will be marketed to locals as well as travelers, and will use short-form video more than in the past.

What's New in Airbnb Experiences

In its sponsored post, which was a pitch for new submissions, Airbnb detailed several elements:

• Listings will be easier to create.

• There will be a "competitive commission structure" for guides and operators.

• Operators will be able to add "co-hosts and team management."

• There will be more tech tools to integrate offerings into Airbnb.

• In an expanded array of offerings, Airbnb will be "encouraging landmarks, attractions and licensed tour guides."

Mitch Bach, a partner in the Tourpreneur and TripSchool CEO, thinks Airbnb is on the right track this time in bringing in experienced personnel and offering the right connectivity tools, including: "API connectivity and the ability to list as a brand with a team of guides, instead of as a single host. This, plus the mentioning of attractions, means they’re serious about scaling the platform in a way that now looks similar to the other OTAs in the sector."

Bach said he's eager to see how Airbnb can maintain its uniqueness as it "executes on this new strategy."

The inclusion of landmarks and attractions does not mean Airbnb is abandoning its more niche, authentic tours.

It is accepting new submissions here.

Note: This story was updated to add information from Mitch Bach of Tourpreneur.