Airbnb expands safety product to help solo travelers as solo travel surges

New data shows travelers are increasingly choosing to explore the world on their own, as solo travel increased by 33 percent on Airbnb last year. Amid this trend and to support our growing community of solo travelers, we’ve expanded our dedicated safety-focused Solo Traveler Safety feature to guests in over 50 languages, following successful pilots in English and Hindi.

Airbnb strives to be a place where anyone can feel safe while traveling, whether with friends, family or by themselves, and our Solo Traveler Safety feature aims to support guests traveling solo in a private or shared room on Airbnb.

When a solo guest books a private or shared room reservation, this specialized in-app experience is activated and provides that guest with access to three key features: Expert tips they may want to try to help stay safe when traveling solo; an easy way to share their Airbnb itinerary with anyone they choose; and prompts from Airbnb suggesting important questions to ask the Host about their listing and neighborhood.

The expansion of this product to more users in more languages accompanies the rise in self-reported solo travel on Airbnb, up 33 percent globally in Q1 through Q3 in 2022 compared to the same time in 2021. Almost a quarter of nights booked worldwide on Airbnb in 2022 were by guests traveling on their own, with long term stays especially popular among solo guests and making up about half of all nights booked. Self-reported female guests are also increasingly taking solo trips, with nights booked by this group rising almost 30 percent globally in Q1 through Q3 in 2022 compared to 2021.

The ten most popular countries and regions for solo travelers to visit on Airbnb in 2022 were:

1. United States 
2. France
3. United Kingdom
4. Canada
5. Spain
6. Brazil
7. Mexico
8. Germany
9. Italy 
10. Australia

Our work to promote exceptional travel experiences for our global community is regularly informed by experts, and our Solo Traveler Safety feature is no different. The development of this product has been informed by counsel from members of our Trust and Safety Advisory Coalition, and in particular Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international non-profit that invests in women leaders solving the world’s greatest challenges, who provided guidance and recommendations on how Airbnb could help with solo traveler safety and women’s safety.

“Promoting positive experience for our community, including solo travelers, is paramount and at the heart of everything we do. As  solo travel surges in popularity, we’re proud to bring safety-focused features to more users around the world and help those traveling on their own to explore with confidence and added peace of mind.”

Naba Banerjee, Director of Trust Product and Operations at Airbnb

“As an international organization that works with women leaders in more than 84 countries, safe travel is essential to the work we do. Vital Voices is pleased to partner with Airbnb on this important mission to make moving about the world safer for solo travelers, especially women.”

Manira Alva, Vice President Issue Advocacy at Vital Voices

The Solo Traveler Safety feature is active and available in the following languages:

Our hope is that this feature equips solo guests to be more informed travelers by helping them to get answers to their pre-trip questions, information about the neighborhood from their Host, and details of their travel plans to the important people in their lives about where they will be and for how long.

While safety incidents on Airbnb are rare, we are committed to evolving our products, policies and team training, including in partnership with members of our Trust and Safety Advisory Coalition, to promote safer travel experiences for our community.

The expansion of our Solo Traveler Safety feature is the latest in our work to that end and complements our existing community-facing Trust and Safety tools and resources, including:

• Our 24-hour Safety Line, available in-app to users during a reservation, meaning if a guest feels unsafe they can directly reach our specialized Safety team for help
• Our Local Emergency Services feature, accessible in-app to users 24/7 – whether or not they’re traveling on Airbnb – to quickly connect them to the local emergency services (i.e. 911), with support in 70 countries and regions
• Safety tips for guests, including choosing a place to stay and interacting with others
• Our emergency contact feature, which allows all users to add up to four emergency contacts to their Airbnb profile. In the rare event Airbnb needs to contact someone on a user’s behalf, having an emergency contact can help to speed up that process.