Introducing Airbnb Setup, the all-new easy way to Airbnb your home

Combined with even more AirCover for Hosts, now is the perfect time to put your place on Airbnb

In May, we introduced Airbnb Categories so that millions of people could discover homes they never knew existed. Today, we’re introducing Airbnb Setup to make it easy for millions of people to Airbnb their home. We’re also providing even more AirCover for Hosts and adding six new Airbnb Categories. 

• Introducing Airbnb Setup – The all-new, super easy way to Airbnb your home, with free one-to-one guidance from a Superhost.
• Even more AirCover for Hosts – Now featuring even more top-to-bottom protection, with guest identity verification, reservation screening, and $3M damage protection, including coverage for cars, boats, art and valuables.
• New Airbnb Categories – We’re adding six new categories of homes, as well as improving the way Airbnb Categories are displayed.

“Airbnb was born during a recession. Joe and I couldn’t afford to pay our rent, so we inflated three air mattresses and created an AirBed & Breakfast. Soon, people all around the world joined us,” said Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb. “Today, just like during the Great Recession in 2008, people are especially interested in earning extra income through hosting. That’s why we’re introducing an easy way for millions of people to Airbnb their homes. With Airbnb Setup, every new Host can get free, one-to-one guidance from a Superhost from their first question through their first reservation. And with even more AirCover for Hosts, now is the perfect time to put your place on Airbnb.”

New homes on Airbnb are getting booked almost immediately. Half of listings that were activated and booked in Q3 2022 received their first reservation within three days. We’ve also seen strong growth rates of new Hosts, especially in certain countries with high inflation rates. 

Introducing Airbnb Setup

Over the past year, more than 30 million people have visited Airbnb to learn about hosting. Today, we’re making it easier for millions of people to get started. Introducing Airbnb Setup, the all-new, super easy way to Airbnb your home. Airbnb Setup includes:

• One-to-one guidance from a Superhost – When you begin Airbnb Setup, we’ll match you with a Superhost for free one-to-one guidance from your first question through your first guest. You can chat with your Superhost over audio, video, or messaging. We’re launching with 1,500 Superhosts in over 80 countries who are dedicated to helping new Hosts get started. 

• An experienced guest for your first booking – For your first booking, you can choose to welcome an experienced guest who has at least three stays and a good track record on Airbnb.
• Specialised support from Airbnb – As a new Host, you get one-tap access to a specially-trained team of Community Support agents. They can help with everything from account issues to getting paid and are available via phone, messaging, or email in over 42 languages.

Even more AirCover for Hosts

Last November, we introduced AirCover to provide unmatched, top-to-bottom protection for every Host on Airbnb. Today, we’re making major upgrades to AirCover for Hosts:

• Guest identity verification – We are expanding identity verification to all booking guests traveling to the top 35 countries and regions on Airbnb—representing 90% of all reservations. We will expand guest identity verification worldwide in Spring 2023.
• Reservation screening technology – We are launching our proprietary reservation screening technology in the US and Canada, which helps reduce the chance of disruptive parties. We will expand our reservation screening technology worldwide in Spring 2023.
• $3M damage protection – We are tripling damage protection from $1 million to $3 million – covering both your home and its contents. 
• Auto & boat protection – We now provide damage protection for cars, boats, and other watercraft that you park or store at your property. 
• Art & valuables protection – A wider range of fine art, jewelry, and collectibles will now be repaired or replaced at appraised value.
• Easier to file a claim – You can now file a claim for damage protection in a few simple steps and easily track its progress from submission through payout.

New Airbnb Categories

In May, we introduced a new way to search designed around Airbnb Categories. Today, we’re introducing six new categories:

• New – Homes added to Airbnb within the past 10 weeks.
• Top of the world – Homes around 10,000 feet above sea level, often with stunning views.
• Trending – Highly-rated homes that received more listing views compared to the previous week.
• Adapted – Homes adapted for wheelchair access, with verified step-free paths into the home, bedroom and bathroom.
• Play – Homes with basketball courts, game rooms, miniature golf, water slides and more.
• Hanoks – Traditional Korean homes constructed of natural materials.

We’re also improving what categories we show you. For example, when you launch the app, you’ll find the Vineyards category if you recently searched for homes in Napa. In addition, more details will be presented in search results when viewing categories. For example, homes with amazing views will list the type of view, and homes near national parks will show the distance to the park entrance.

Worldwide rollout starting today

Airbnb Setup, upgrades to AirCover for Hosts, and new Airbnb Categories will begin rolling out worldwide this week.

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About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

Airbnb 2022 November Release Highlights

With Airbnb Setup and even more AirCover for Hosts, now is the perfect time to put your place on Airbnb

• Amidst a rising cost of living crisis, earning much-needed income has never been more important. This is leading to a new wave of people considering hosting for the first time. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 60 million unique visitors have visited our Host page, with over 40 percent of those visiting in the last year.  

• We’re also seeing Hosts earning more than ever before. Last year, the typical Host on Airbnb in South Africa earned more than R25,400. And total Host earnings globally have increased by 30 percent in Q3 compared to the same time last year. 

• Hosts globally are using this extra money to help cover mortgage payments, everyday essentials and rising costs. According to a recent survey, almost half of Hosts said the money they’ve earned through hosting has helped them stay in their home, 46 percent say they’ve used the extra money to pay for food and other items that have become more expensive, while one in 10 said it has helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure.

• And Hosts are having great success securing bookings quickly. Half of listings that were activated and booked in Q3 2022 received their first booking within three days. In addition, during this past winter, the typical Host in South Africa earned more than R12,900.

• People are more flexible than ever before, and we believe with that flexibility comes the ability to occasionally share your space, whatever size. In fact, new private rooms listings added to the platform in South Africa are up over 50 per cent between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022. And as travel continues to rebound, there are increasingly new opportunities to Host occasionally:
  • When the Big Game was in Los Angeles, Hosts welcomed over 9,000 guests, earning collectively over $4 million.
  • The Canadian Grand Prix saw nearly 5,000 guests with Hosts earning collectively over 1.7 million CAD.
  • During Pride in Madrid, the city welcomed 56,000 guests with Hosts earning around €15 million.
  • Since becoming the home of the annual tech conference Web Summit in 2016, Hosts in Lisbon have earned more than €11 million. 
  • Host earnings were expected to reach $4.1 million NZD in Auckland and Whangarei during the women’s rugby tournament in New Zealand.

• Guests are enjoying five-star experiences, with more than four in every five stays globally in Q3 resulting in a top-rated review. 

• South African travellers are searching for amenities for living, with pools, wifi, kitchens, air conditioning, and a washing machine all making up the top five most searched filters.

November Release follow-up

• Earlier in the year, we created a completely new way to search, designed around Airbnb Categories. Since it launched in May, there have been over 300 million views.

• Category Hosts are also seeing great success in bookings. The top five categories in South Africa by median earnings since launch are:
  • Design: R56,000
  • Amazing views: over R22,900
  • Iconic city: over R20,800
  • Beachfront: over R18,700
  • Beach: over R17,400

• In our 2021 November Release, we expanded our Ask A Superhost program, connecting prospective Hosts with some of our most experienced Hosts for one-on-one advice. Since launching Ask A Superhost, more than 420,000 connections have been made globally, with over two thirds of those taking place since the beginning of this year. The 2022 November Release today goes even further with every new Host automatically matched with a Superhost to offer additional guidance to help list their space through Airbnb Setup.

• There has also been an overwhelmingly positive response to AirCover for Hosts since we announced it last year. For Hosts with an AirCover reimbursement request, the net promoter score has increased nearly 70 points. That’s why we’ve expanded the program today to cover triple the amount of damage protection and added automobile, boat, art and valuables protection. 

Airbnb 2022 Summer Travel Trends

Last holiday season Hosts globally earned over $2.4 billion. This summer will continue to see guests visit destinations both near and far, seeking sun, sand and water. The top five booked categories this summer for South African guests are Beach, Amazing pools, Iconic city, Beachfront and Surfing.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding travel trends, the travel industry and the future of travel, the behavior of Hosts and guests and about our future performance, prospects, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “expect,” “could,” “potential,” “objective,” or “continues” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur at all.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the objectives expressed or implied in this press release. Therefore, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the effects and duration of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic on us, the travel industry, travel trends, and the global economy generally; any decline or disruption in the travel and hospitality industries or economic downturn; changes in political, business, and economic conditions, including current geopolitical tensions and regional instability; and the other risks listed or described from time to time in Airbnb’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including Airbnb’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022 and subsequent Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks, which are, or will be, on file with the SEC and available on the investor relations page of Airbnb’s website.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information and estimates available to us as of the date of this press release. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release, except as required by law.