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Introducing social features for Airbnb Experiences: A new way to connect with other guests before, during, and after your trip

By Airbnb ·
· Company, Product

Plus, smarter search, more flexible payment options, and expanded AI-powered customer support

The image shows two smartphone screens displaying an app interface. The left screen is titled "Upcoming availability," displaying a specific time slot, "Thursday, October 23, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM," with "3 spots available." Below this, there are circular icons with smiling faces, and a note says "Join guests from United States, France, and South Korea." The right screen shows a section titled "Connections" with information about people with whom the user has booked trips. Two profiles are shown: one of a person named Cory, with "3 trips together," and the other of a person named Sophia, with "2 trips together." Each profile has circular images of the persons and icons resembling passport stamps with city names.

Plus, smarter search, more flexible payment options, and expanded AI-powered customer support

Travel isn’t just about where you go—it’s about who you meet. But those connections often fade once the trip ends. That’s why we’re introducing new social features for Airbnb Experiences, to help you connect with other guests before, during and after your experience. 

With searches for winter travel on the rise1, we’re also announcing new updates for guests and hosts in time for a busy holiday season, including:

  • Smarter search and improved maps, to help you discover hidden gems
  • A new way to pay with Reserve Now, Pay Later
  • Expanded AI-powered customer support in more countries and languages
  • More tools to help hosts manage their calendar and pricing

New social features for Airbnb Experiences 

Airbnb Experiences are designed to be as much about the people as the activity. Now, we’re introducing new social features, so you can connect with other guests throughout your trip and long after.

  • Who’s going - In a recent survey, more than 7 in 10 respondents said they would like to know more about other guests before booking an experience2. Now, before you book, we’ll show you guests who are already going on that experience, along with where they’re from.3  
  • Direct messaging - Forget to swap contact info? You can request to directly message guests you first met during an experience to stay in touch or even plan your next experience together, all right in the app. 
  • Connections in profile - Now, in the Connections section of your Airbnb Profile tab, you can see the people you’ve met on your experiences, making it easy to reconnect with them.

You can enjoy these new social features while staying in control of what you share with new people. For each experience, you can choose to share your profile, giving you clear and simple control over who can message you and how you're displayed in other guests' Connections.

Smarter ways to search and more ways to pay

We’re making it easier to discover great places to stay and pay in a way that works for you. 

  • Flexible carousels - When you're searching for your stay, you’ll now see more options for homes just outside of your search criteria. For example, we'll show homes with similar prices, different amenities or stays in nearby cities for less, helping you discover great options you might have otherwise missed.4
  • Improved maps - Maps now let you easily filter for nearby landmarks, attractions, restaurants and more. Tap on any point of interest to see a summary and how far it is from the home in your search—or from the place you already booked. Later this year, see different map views, including satellite, street, and transit, based on your preference. 
  • Reserve Now, Pay Later - With Reserve Now, Pay Later, guests have the option to reserve an eligible stay and pay $0 upfront. We launched this in the US earlier this year, and starting next year, it will be available worldwide for both domestic and international trips.5

Expanded AI-powered customer support 

Our AI assistant is getting even better with smarter responses and support in more places for guests and hosts.6 

  • More languages, more countries - The assistant will be available in English, Spanish and French, for users in the US, Mexico and Canada.
  • Smarter answers - The assistant can recognize you7, your reservation, or your listing and provide quicker, more tailored responses.
  • Built-in actions - The assistant will let you take actions right in the chat, with interactive cards for common tasks like cancelling a reservation or changing dates.

Upgrades for hosts

We’re also rolling out highly-requested features to give hosts more flexibility and insight.

  • Dynamic cancellation policies - Set different cancellation policies for specific dates—like holidays or off-peak seasons8. 
  • Improved price tips - View price tips for dates up to a year in advance and adopt all tips in just one tap.9 
  • Updated earnings dashboard - Starting next year, view earnings trends year-over-year and compare seasonal performance in an all new tab.10
Read more about: Actualités, Company, Experiences, Product Release

1Based on Airbnb internal data of searches made in Q2 2025 for December 1, 2025 – February 28, 2026 compared with searches made in Q2 2024 for December 1, 2024– February 28, 2025.
2Based on a nationally representative sample of people who book experiences as part of a trip from an online survey commissioned by Airbnb and conducted by Focaldata between September 14 and October 3, 2025 of 28,821 adults across 29 countries.
3Only people who choose to share their profile with other guests will show up before you book.
4Flexible location carousels are currently available to a limited number of guests, with broader availability anticipated in early 2026.
5‘Reserve Now, Pay Later’ is available to guests in the US and will become available to select guests globally beginning today, with broader availability expected early next year. Reservations paid in Brazilian Real (BRL), Indian Rupee (INR), or Turkish Lira (TRY) are ineligible.
6The AI assistant is available today in English and Spanish, and accessible to users in the United States and Mexico. All other updates are expected to be available later this year.
7Users are required to be logged into their account and authenticated.
8Dynamic cancellation will begin rolling out to a limited number of hosts starting today, with broader availability expected in early 2026.
9 Improved price tips will be made available to hosts in early 2026.
10The new performance tab will be made available to hosts in early 2026.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays, experiences, and services that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

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