Airbnb embarks on a reinvention tour

Turn the page: Airbnb is entering a new chapter. The company that started as a couch-surfing app this week announced a series of updates that will allow its ~150 million users to do more than just book a vacation stay at a cute condo in a walkable neighborhood.

• Users can now order services directly to their Airbnb, such as chefs, spa therapists, personal trainers, and professional makeup artists—all vetted by the company, who says they carry an average of ten years on the job.
• Airbnb is also reinvigorating its experiences business, a failed experiment it paused in 2023. The rebranded “Experiences” option will be available via the homescreen, offering 19 categories of bookable events across 650 cities—including celebrity-centric experiences like a Sunday Funday with Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and a “day of glam, dancing and espresso” with popstar Sabrina Carpenter.

It’s also a social media play: Airbnb plans to roll out connection-based features later this year, including a group-chat feature for people who participate in an experience together where messages, photos/videos, and other recs can be shared.

Big picture: The company is in the midst of a $200+ million transformation—born from a Jerry Maguire-style manifesto written by CEO Brian Chesky in late 2023—into a book-anything services app. As he puts it: “Now you can Airbnb more than an Airbnb.”