In March, six Airbnb executives circled the globe in an expansive world tour advancing the latest, and most significant step in our growth beyond accommodations: Trips, bringing people, places and experiences together in a single platform.
Led by Brian Chesky, members of the Airbnb executive team traveled to a total of 16 countries across 6 continents, spending time with hosts and leaders from communities across the world in the process of building out Trips, our people-powered platform that integrates Homes, Experiences and Places into a single booking destination.
Brian Chesky, Nate Blecharczyk, Joe Gebbia, Chris Lehane, Joe Zadeh and Andrea La Mesa led the launch or expansion of Trips in 20 cities, from Berlin and Bangkok to Harlem and Singapore and beyond.
Kicking off in San Francisco, Brian set the stage with a celebration of the heart of Airbnb: our hosts. In a town hall with local hosts, Brian announced several initiatives supporting our host community, including quarterly live chats, and the expansion of Airbnb’s Host Advisory Council and regional Host Clubs around the world.
Throughout the tour, Brian and the team spotlighted Experiences as a way for hosts to earn extra money by doing what they love, and for guests to see a destination in a whole new way. Guided by local experts, newly launched Airbnb Experiences range from a lesson from a champion surfer in Sydney to discovering the secrets of Japanese knives with a cutlery master in Osaka. And they aren’t just for travelers: Experiences are also a great way for locals to meet new people, learn a new skill or see their own cities with a fresh pair of eyes.
In addition, we’ve added 470 Guidebooks to 12 cities including Paris, Tokyo, London and others. Guidebooks, city guides crafted by knowledgeable locals, offer recommendations on new places to discover, such as where to find the best craft beers in Paris, tips on the best underground art venues in Tokyo, and other unexpected places that only insiders know about.
In between meet-and-greets, launch events, and a few long plane rides, the team also embarked on several Experiences themselves, with Brian getting styled by a New Delhi designer duo, Joe rolling up his sleeves with a ‘dumpling evangelist’ in Singapore, and Chris previewing an upcoming Mexico City Experience that involved sampling local delicacies like grasshoppers and flowers.
Here are a few of the key Trips highlights from the tour:
After kick-off announcements in San Francisco, Brian announced the launch of Trips in Harlem, New Delhi and Shanghai, along with Music Experiences in 13 cities. In Cape Town, Brian met with graduates of iKhaya le Langa, a hospitality training non-profit, to learn how people-powered hospitality supports women entrepreneurs in Cape Town’s Langa quarter.
Nate traveled across Europe, where he guided the official launch of Trips in Madrid and Paris. In Berlin, Nate announced the upcoming launch of Berlin Trips.
Joe kicked off Trips announcements in Asia, launching Trips in Bangkok and Singapore, along with announcing the expansion of Trips in Japan, including Osaka Trips and a growing array of Experiences and Guidebooks in Tokyo.
In advance of upcoming Trips launches in Latin America, Chris took Experiences preparing local cuisine in Mexico City and boxing in Rio, in addition to meeting with policymakers across Florida, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In the U.S., he also spotlighted the $20 million economic impact of hosting in Detroit, one of our first Trips cities on Airbnb.
Andrea’s tour began in Canada, where he launched Trips in Toronto, the first city in Canada to offer Experiences. From there, he traveled to Italy to celebrate the launch of Rome Trips.
Joebot headed south to Australia and New Zealand, where he ushered in Sydney Trips, went on Experiences in surfing, opera and cooking Vietnamese food, and capped off the tour by celebrating the launch of Trips in Queenstown.
Throughout this year, we’ll be bringing Trips to 32 more markets across the world, in addition to building out Places, including tips and recommendations by hosts and insiders, handcrafted Guidebooks, and social Meetups to connect guests with fellow travelers. We’re making travel magical again by putting people front and center, and couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.