Just before the peak holiday season starts in earnest, there are many features which Airbnb has introduced that aim to deliver a better short-term let experience to both hosts and guests when utilising the homesharing site.
Thanks to these changes, the platform, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year and is available in almost 200 countries, is confident of its future. The improvements came in response to concerns about the impact that Airbnb has to home values, and challenges coming from the hotel sector.
One of the largest challenges for the website is the new, guaranteed Airbnb inspection. Many guests of short-term lets have complained that the conditions shown in photographs displayed on property listings are pristine, but in reality, the properties are well below a reasonable condition, and this has left the organisation frequently embarrassed.
However, Airbnb is now requesting that its hosts deliver cleanliness, design and safety standards which are similar to a hotel. This includes amenities such as WiFi and sanitary facilities.
For some properties, Airbnb has recruited inspectors to confirm basic amenities, from the availability of toilet paper, to one towel per guest as a minimum. The organisation began notifying property hosts about the changes, which have now been rolled out. These include increased housing categories, Airbnb collections, new tiers and loyalty programmes.
To improve attractiveness to niche customers, Airbnb introduced new property categories, which were Vacation Home, Unique, Boutiques and B&B. These new categories joined the already existing classes which were Shared Space, Private Home and Entire Home.
Airbnb believes that it can sell additional services to its short-term lets by offering experiences that would enhance their guests’ stay. This is know as Airbnb Collections. When booking from the Collection, guests can expect a higher rated home, complete with essential amenities, from self check-in for business trips to well-equipped kitchens for family holidays and WiFi. The current original collections on Airbnb include Family and Work listings, with Group Getaway, Dinner Party, Social Stays and Honeymoon collections joining soon.
Two new property tiers have been launched on Airbnb, titled Beyond by Airbnb and Airbnb Plus. Airbnb Plus includes properties which have been verified against a checklist of 100 points by real people. According to the organisation, approximately 2,000 homes located in 12 cities are now available as part of this verified selection of well-equipped and high-quality short-let properties.
Beyond by Airbnb properties go one step further, and include mansions and palatial estates that can come with maintenance professionals, butlers and maids to provide renters with the comfort of living in five-star homes. Airbnb describes these properties as extraordinary homes, which offer full service hospitality.
Lastly, in order to reward loyalty, Airbnb is overhauling two programmes. The company aims to recognise and reward its top renters using the Superguest programme, a new membership scheme. The scheme originally began as a trial of 10,000 guests before being rolled out at the end of 2018.
Airbnb also expanded its Superhost program, which offers 14 updated and new benefits, such as exclusive discounts, SEO support, custom URLs, a dedicated filter on its app which gains increased exposure for the property and an annual bonus.
It is believed that by offering these new schemes and inspections, that Airbnb will continue to compete with other new travel sites.
Ensure your short term rental is super tight with our specialised short term rental inspection app. Try Host Inspect for FREE here.