Airbnb Adds Social Features to Experiences, Expands ‘Reserve Now, Pay Later’
Photo Credit: People in an Airbnb cooking class in Mexico City. Airbnb
Skift Take
Airbnb has a lot riding on its Experiences business. Adding a social feature is an incremental improvement, not a game changer.
Airbnb is making its experiences business more social.
For example, guests booking a food tour of Little Havana in Miami can now see profile photos and first names of others on the tour who’ve opted in to connect. Through the Airbnb app, they can message fellow participants during or after the experience.
A new "Connections" section in each user’s Airbnb profile lists people who joined the same experience, and enables guests to stay in touch if both parties agree. Messaging is off by default, but users can opt in or block messages at any time, Airbnb said.
Source: Airbnb
Airbnb says it monitors the conversations, just as it does for messages between guests and hosts
