14 May 2019 App Development
Airbnb has announced that it is going to now offer virtual digital Experiences so people who are practicing social distancing and staying at home can find activities to do from their own homes. The new Airbnb Online Experiences offers activities like bartending and cooking classes, virtual bike tours, Korean makeup tutorials, fortune reading, comedy shows, and drawing lessons. This seems to be like a new twist in the efforts that the company is making to adapt itself during this time of confinement where they have seen their activity drop over 95%.
When it launched in 2016, Airbnb Experiences was part of the company’s foray into transforming the rental platform into a full-fledged travel company with many complementary services. It offered tours, events, and activities hosted by local individuals and companies in cities around the world in which they operated. The "Experiences" project was put on hold after major cities began closing nonessential businesses due to the covid pandemic and traveling, in general, declined because of lockdowns. However, the company is hoping that the online-only relaunch might give those at home something to do while giving local hosts a new source of income. Despite the fact that their usual tours are temporarily shuttered, since the technology they use to host is pretty much the same, the rebranding of this seems to be a good way for AirBnB to surpass this lockdown. (Before today’s launch, various fitness instructors, musicians, and actors had already begun hosting free classes and concerts online via Zoom, Twitch, IGTV, and YouTube.)
Experiences range from a few bucks to up to $65 per person per activity. Airbnb says that hosts will still pay a small cut of the Experience commission to the company as they did before to cover service fees and liability insurance. Be that as it may, to this day the company still has not yet clarified what this insurance covers with regards to digital-based classes.
As an added value to classes and activities by local hosts, Airbnb has also partnered with a few other organizations to offer free live activities catered toward elders who are at higher risks of contracting the virus , helping them stay engaged while they wait the lockdown at home. Classes are hosted on Zoom, and Airbnb is providing approved hosts with paid access for free.
This is an example of how a company can use it's own infrastructure and tech knowledge to reinvent themselves in times of need. Airbnb had over 300 million dollars worth of annual costs last year. This movement may provide for additional funds that the company so desperately needs in these times of need. Another thing to note is how the company is also gearing their needs towards the needs of their hosts. By selling the idea that they are also helping hosts, they have made a wonderful and brillian to note Marketing Campaign.