- The number of Experiences hosted by Brits aged 60+ has grown 343% in the last year
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The number of Experience bookings made by UK guests aged 60+ has grown 396% since 2017, ranking second behind 18-24 year old guests
Aging is sometimes perceived as being synonymous with loneliness, loss and a withdrawal from surroundings. However, Airbnb reveals that senior community members are experiencing just the opposite. Increasingly powered by seniors, we’ve seen significant growth in the over 60s age group both in hosts and guests in the UK, with a 343 percent growth in the number of Experiences hosted by seniors, and a 396 percent increase in Experience bookings by over 60s from last year.* This places 60+ guests second only to guests aged 18-24 in terms of the growth of guests booking Experiences on the platform.
343%
growth in the number of Experiences hosted by seniors in the UK
396%
increase in Experience bookings by seniors in the UK from last year
This trend is on the rise, as more seniors plan to travel this year than last, and when it comes to international travel, touring with a local is increasingly the desired way to experience a new place. It appears many entering their golden years are discovering this way of travelling through authentic, handmade Experiences on Airbnb led by locals, with the UK ranking high in the number of over 60s hosting and taking them on Airbnb.
Countries with the most Experience hosts age 60+*
United States
Italy
United Kingdom
Japan
France
Countries with the most Experience guests age 60+*
United States
United Kingdom
Australia
Canada
France
According to Dr. Marc Agronin, a geriatric psychiatrist at Miami Jewish Health and author of The End of Old Age: Living a Longer, More Purposeful Life:
Interacting with people from other places and ways of life stimulates our brains and inspires us to learn new ways of speaking and interacting. Learning words from a new language is a wonderful brain exercise. These encounters broaden our perspectives and enhance our well-being.
Dr. Marc Agronin, geriatric psychiatrist
The Airbnb over 60 community is certainly sharing a vast array of interests. From exploring the unseen urban corners of Hong Kong with Alfred, to indulging in Havana’s rich culinary culture with Dayami, to taking a journey inside your brain with Phil in Sydney, and even mastering the rhythms of Latin music in a former San Francisco speakeasy with Quentin, the passions vary widely.
Toby Klayman, San Francisco
As one of San Francisco’s original Home hosts and one of the first Experience hosts, Toby has shared her home and her life’s passion with people around the world, but hadn’t yet been an Airbnb Experience guest. Usually bestowing her affinity and skill for multi-media art through her Madame Renaissance Experience, Toby dove head first into a new art form through DJ Lamont’s Learn to DJ Experience:
“It’s out of my comfort zone completely and it was very refreshing. This is my first Experience [as a guest] – it was wonderful, I loved it. [DJ Lamont] was wonderful – he’s very devoted to what he does. It’s not like looking at murals in the Mission, it’s not like going to a hotel where there’s a hundred musicians playing in a dance band — this is a different kind of art — it’s from scratch.”
Toby Klayman
Chwee Lian Tan, Singapore
At 87 years young, Chwee Lian has witnessed a lot of change in Singapore’s history. For the past 70 years she has worked to preserve the last Taoist deity shop in the country, and now shares its story and effigy making art with visitors from near and far on her Where Gods Are Born Experience. She put her creative skills to the test in one of today’s newest art forms, drone photography, on Gwee Wan’s Learn to Fly a Drone Experience, by capturing photos of the iconic Singapore skyline. (Spoiler: she passed with flying colours).
“Being a guest was a very interesting experience. Like being a host, it gives me the chance to talk to many different people and learn many new things. As a guest today, I visited a part of Singapore that even I as an 87-year-old have never visited before. I have [also] not seen a drone before. I think it is an amazing machine. It can fly so high!”
Chwee Lian Tan
Luis Castro, Lisbon, Portugal
Luis’ natural born passion for life on the water has been with him nearly his entire life, having started sailing when he was just eight-years-old. Decades of racing boats later, he now takes guests on a trip through time on his Historical Boat Tour on Classic Yacht Experience in Lisbon. It might come as no surprise that he took to surfing almost instantly with the help of host Filipe on The Surf Instructor Experience.
“This is a great Experience. Very fun. I’ve dreamed of surfing since childhood but never got the chance. I’m 60 years old and never imagined I would stand up in 10 minutes.”
Luis Castro
Susan Grave, Berlin
A self-professed nomad, Susan has lived and travelled all over the world with Airbnb and rarely sits still for too long. She has a wide range of interests – from lifting weights in her local gym to scuba-diving and photography. She wanted to be on the other side of the lens for one day so she was very excited to book Artistic Photoshooting with local Experience host and professional photographer Caterina Rancho. The results from the shoot will form part of a series of work Caterina is assembling for an upcoming photographic exhibition in Berlin.
“My philosophy in life has always been do whatever you love. Don’t put it off or wait for tomorrow because you really have to live for today. Travel keeps me young but so does trying new things and not being afraid of spontaneity. I had such a blast at the photoshoot – even though I still had paint in my hair the next day – it was worth every minute of it. My friends think I’m crazy – but maybe they have a point!”
Susan Grave
Deo Angulo, Barcelona, Spain
As the most booked 60+ Experience host in Europe, Deo knows a thing or two about exposing guests to the natural beauty of Barcelona on his Sail & Relax with Captain Deo Experience. As a guest, Deo witnessed the unveiling of some of the more hand crafted beauty blanketing Barcelona’s walls with host Yuri (or, as he’s known in the artist community, Pezkhamino) on his Paint the Walls with a Street Artist Experience.
“The Experience was very rewarding and it exceeded my expectations. Yuri is a very close person and makes you feel at home. He explained all the secrets of urban art and I had a great time. I recommend it one hundred percent.”
Deo Angulo
Madelyn Naber, Austin, TX
A self-proclaimed “Woman Gone Wine”, Madelyn Naber and her husband Rick have been producing different varietals at their Flat Creek Estate winery for nearly two decades in Austin’s Hill Country. Madelyn’s dedication and effervescence is even more memorable than the tasting for her guests who come from many backgrounds and familiarities with wine on her Hill Country Estate Winery Tour Experience. She transformed her knowledge of notes in dry reds to the notes on the drums with host Ben on his Play Drums in the Music Capital Experience.
“The drumming Experience was a new adventure that I would have never thought to try. I played the clarinet in high school and took a few piano lessons but, playing the drums never even crossed my mind. Oddly, after this Experience I have a new admiration for drummers and would love to take more lessons and learn more about the history of the drums! It was so much fun!”
Madelyn Naber
Tenshin Ito, Osaka, Japan
With 45 years of experience in Japanese calligraphy, or Shodo, under his belt, Tenshin shares his passion with hundreds of people around the world on his Brush and Ink Social Impact Experience in Tokyo, giving all of the proceeds to children in Vietnam suffering from AIDS. Applying the same cultural approach in his Shodo, to Ken-do, or samurai, Tenshin learned to wield a sword with host Yasu on his Practice Samurai Skills with a Teacher Experience in Osaka.
“I was so much impressed with the young host’s Samurai spirit. That’s why I could follow his lecture – by the end of the Experience not only [did I] study how to handle the sword but the Samurai spirit.”
Tenshin Ito
*Based on internal Airbnb data as of September 2018 measuring year over year growth in Experience hosts and guests age 60+ from Sept. 2017-Sept. 2018, the most popular Experience categories hosted and taken by people aged 60+, and the countries with the highest number of Experiences hosts aged 60+ and guests who have taken Experiences aged 60+.
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