Airbnb Wants Hosts And Guests To Interact More

Airbnb is a great option if you’re looking for somewhere to stay that could be cheaper than hotels, and house a lot more people than a regular hotel room would. However it seems that apart from booking a room and sending messages back and forth via Airbnb, interaction between the host and guests are a bit limited.

More often than not, the key to the house/apartment is left for you somewhere, and you might get the occasional welcome basket with a note or two. However the founders at Airbnb thinks that this needs to change and are considering increasing the amount of interaction between the host and guests.

Speaking to BBC India, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk claims that Airbnb users are actually keen on forming personal connections, so much so that they are thinking of ways to pair hosts with guests with activities, like tours, playing sports, and so on. “What we’ve demonstrated is there’s an immense appetite to travel more authentically and immerse yourself in culture … as opposed to having a commoditised experience.”

He adds, “But connecting with real people having a good time, that’s something not currently available in the professionalised world of hospitality. We’re thinking beyond accommodation.” It is an interesting idea, but what do you guys think? Would you like to interact more with your Airbnb host, or are you fine with the way things are at the moment?

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: airbnb