Airbnb has asserted that it is ready to inject $5 million into Experiences thereby expanding the offer to as many as 200 locations in the United States.
The plan is to usher Experiences to smaller markets around the nation.
Airbnb has already established 4,000 Experiences in 50 locations internationally, about 1,000 of which are in the U.S. Experiences represents a key initiative for Brian Chesky who is the CEO of Airbnb. He is focusing on in his efforts to enable his company evolve from a marketplace for renting other people’s homes into a multidimensional travel brand.
Experiences offer several options for travellers right from microbrew beer-tasting seminars to bespoke bike tours of the neighborhoods.
Experiences also enjoys the benefit of enjoying higher profit margins for the company than Homes. The company has noted in a blog post that in the U.S. the average earnings for somebody hosting experiences 9 times per month is $6,200 annually while the average income who is able to host more regularly is about an upwards of $24,000 annually.
On average Experiences hosts is known to charge anywhere from $25 to $150 per person for a single activity.
Airbnb takes a 20% cut of that, but then only gets about 3 to 5% cut of earnings from home rentals. But then, Homes are a bigger business for the company. The doubling down on Experiences offer a peephole into how the company might innovate down the road.
Experience leverages the community of hosts of Airbnb and strengthens its ability to develop new communities.
Tags: Airbnb, Brian Chesky, experiences
