Airbnb's summer releases are typically big events with a ton of updates for guests and some updates for hosts. But now the company is introducing just a few updates to group bookings, along with a new category called Icons, which are experiences hosted by celebrities from music, film, TV and sports.
The group booking feature is likely the only update that will apply to all users, and will allow you to create shared wishlists, a group messaging tab with hosts, and group travel invitations with accommodation details .
Users can now invite friends and family to their wishlists through mobile phone contacts or links. Group members can add properties to the list, leave notes about properties, and vote on properties to make reservation decisions.
Image credit: Airbnb
After the principal member has booked the accommodation, he or she must invite the person to join him on the trip again by postcard. The invitation also includes details such as address, check-in instructions, and Wi-Fi password.
Airbnb is also introducing a new Messages tab where all travelers can chat with hosts and respond to messages. Hosts can answer questions with AI-powered suggestions, such as sending guests a property checkout guide.
Image credit: Airbnb
Airbnb co-founder and chief strategy officer Nathan Breschalczyk said the company built the groups feature because more than 80% of trips on the platform are made by multiple people. Additionally, there is a lot of interaction between group members in terms of making decisions.
Apart from the Groups feature, Airbnb is also introducing a new revenue dashboard for hosts with better insights and properties like the X-Men mansion, the Ferrari Museum, Prince's Purple Rainhouse, and Living Room Sessions with Doja Cat. We have released an experience category called Icon that features . . These experiences are available for a short period of time and users must apply to participate. Airbnb plans to accommodate 4,000 people in his 11 experiences.
Using AI at Airbnb
In a conversation with TechCrunch last November, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company was testing the use of AI to generate review summaries. Blecharczyk told TechCrunch that the platform plans to leverage AI in multiple areas, including customer support, although Airbnb hasn't disclosed this area publicly.
“We are increasingly leveraging AI to streamline customer support, ensuring customers are directed to the right agent and automatically resolving tickets with AI-generated responses.” says Blecharczyk.
The Airbnb co-founder said that AI-powered responses are only applicable in certain scenarios and that the company is testing in limited production environments.
“I think there's a lot of potential for applying AI to business. We're thinking a lot about how AI will change the experience for our consumer base over time,” Brescharczyk said. , did not provide details of the company's roadmap.
“We have a lot of reviews and we know a lot of customer service data. So we're thinking about how we can use AI to better understand listings and their information.”
In November 2023, Airbnb acquired a stealth startup called Gameplanner, founded by Siri co-founder Adam Cheyer. Earlier this year, Chesky said the acquisition of Gameplanner was part of a plan to create the “ultimate concierge” of travel platforms. Resolving customer questions with AI-powered replies is probably the first step to doing so.