Airbnb is stepping up its Experiences feature with a $5 million investment.
Experiences is the company's take on tours and activities, which was launched in 2016 to aid small business owners, new entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations in promoting immersive activities for travelers. Experiences include various activities, from surfing to biking tours, as well as beer-tasting seminars to cooking authentic native cuisine.
This year, the company is extending this offering to 200 locations in the United States. Currently, Airbnb offers 4,000 Experiences in 50 locations worldwide, a thousand of which are located in the country.
In a blog post, Airbnb stated the company experienced "exciting growth" in the past year, with weekly guest bookings up by at least 2,000 percent and active experiences up by at least 500 percent.
"By attracting travelers from around the world who seek to see cities through the eyes of a local, Airbnb Experiences bring real economic value to neighborhoods and non-profits that previously would not have benefited from tourism," the company said.
This new move from Airbnb is a step toward its ultimate goal, which is to become an "end-to-end" travel company. As of press time, Airbnb promotes Homes, Places, and Experiences. Also in 2016, it indicated that it would soon include Flights and Services in its features.
Fast Company notes that this is a key initiative from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who hopes to transform the company from a simple venue for renting other people's homes to a multidimensional travel company.
Airbnb also introduced a number of features in the past year, such as booking restaurant reservations, split payment in groups, rental booking installments, and new filters for guests with accessibility needs.
Last December, Airbnb also announced that it is planning to launch virtual and augmented reality features for its users to make their bookings and travels a more immersive experience.
