Airbnb puts new spin on experiences with “Icons” launch

For the last several years, every May and November, Airbnb has announced a package of updates and new products related to its core accommodation product, with a focus on offerings to fine-tune the platform for its short-term rental hosts and guests.  

The 2024 May update, dubbed the “Summer Release,” is something different. 

This time the spotlight is on experiences – but with a completely different spin than the existing “Airbnb Experiences” product that the company sidelined last April. This time the experiences are curated by Airbnb itself, not its hosts, and they are designed to tap into consumers’ desire to tie travel and experiences to pop culture - a formula that was successful in generating buzz for the rental giant last summer with its Barbie Malibu Dream House.

In a highly-produced event Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, filled with about 150 journalists and social media content creators from around the world, as well as celebrities including Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Airbnb launched “Icons,” described as “extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports and more.”

The product is launching with 11 experiences, with plans to unveil new ones from around the world throughout 2024. Some, but not all, of the Icon experiences also include an overnight stay.

“Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination - until now,” said Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and CEO. “As life becomes increasingly digital, we’re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we’ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth.”

Examples of the experiences include a tequila tasting and live stand-up comedy show inside Kevin Hart’s members-only Coramino Live Lounge for 30 people; a tour and studio session inside the home Prince purchased to film “Purple Rain”; and a “living room performance” from singer Doja Cat for 15 people. Other experiences are built around overnight stays in properties such as a recreation of the house in the Disney and Pixar movie “Up” - which Airbnb built from the ground up and attached to a crane so it can "float" - the Ferrari Museum in Italy, the Musee D'Orsay in Paris and the home of Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor in India.

Beginning Wednesday and rolling out over the coming months, each offering will go live on Airbnb, indicating that guests can request to book the experience, with prices ranging from free to $97 per person. Some will be one-time offerings and others will have multiple available dates. Airbnb will use a two-step selection process - a combination of a drawing and a panel of judges - that will determine which entrants receive an invitation to book the experiences. Airbnb said 4,000 invitations will be awarded this calendar year. 

The new offering aligns with Airbnb’s ambition to move beyond its core business of short-term rental stays, something Chesky has talked about regularly on the company’s quarterly earnings calls in the past year.

“We've always believed that Airbnb was destined to offer more than just a place to stay,” Chesky said in February.

It’s a concept the company began to explore years ago – in 2018 Airbnb’s managing director of EMEA spoke at Phocuswright Europe about the company exploring flights and car rentals - but that was put on hiatus due to the pandemic.

Now with the launch of Icons, including partnerships with brands such as Disney and celebrities from around the globe, Airbnb is investing big in that strategy.

“This is a pivot point in that this is showing the world that Airbnb can be more than the stay,” said Tara Bunch, Airbnb's global head of operations, during an interview at the event Wednesday.

But while these experiences are without doubt unique and innovative, are they more about generating buzz than a sustainable expansion of Airbnb's core business?

“They are leaning into one of their perceived strengths - a very real one - which is that they have super unique stays in the short-term rental sector and a lot of travelers can see hotels as generic, especially in the upscale stays," said Madeline List, senior research analyst for Phocuswright. "But this will never be mainstream. So my question is how are they going to elevate the average stay and deter hosts from setting up properties that don't feel differentiated?”

And said Bunch, the buzz is most certainly a critical goal of the Icon campaign.

When asked how the company will determine if the investment in Icons was worth it, Bunch said, “One of the things will be, obviously, growth in guests and hosts from just awareness, buzz, the excitement ... also maybe demand in terms of people approaching us saying 'I can create an icon.' It’s really an investment in our future and an investment in the brand. It’s capturing people’s imagination in terms of what’s possible.”

Additional Airbnb updates

Along with the Icons launch, Airbnb announced new features to make it easier for its users to plan a trip together – driven in part by the fact that more than 80% of its bookings are for group trips. 

Now users can share “wish lists” to track properties, including notes and votes on the listing. Airbnb has also updated its Messages tool so guests can communicate with the host in a group thread.

Airbnb is also updating tools for hosts, including an expanded earnings dashboard with interactive performance charts and automated earnings reports.

*The reporter's attendance at the event was supported by Airbnb.