Is now the time to create an Airbnb experience?

Have you ever considered adding a new revenue stream? In person events and workshops are a great way to diversify revenue streams.  For many artisans, it also breaks up the monotony of producing products. There are many ways to sell events and workshops, and one of them is Airbnb experiences. Have you explored it yet?

It may feel a bit strange to see writing about Airbnb. Especially if you are not familiar with experiences. Eight years ago their experiences features were launched. If you missed it, you are not alone. Experiences has not been closely integrated into the core Airbnb product. After the initial launch, marketing is primarily organic and word of mouth. So what are experiences? Per Airbnb, “Launched in 2016, Airbnb Experiences are unique, memorable activities designed and hosted by locals that go beyond typical tours or workshops. They provide deep insights and immersion into the hosts’ passions and interests, and a different way to experience a destination.” (https://news.airbnb.com/enjoy-the-magic-of-airbnb-experiences-from-the-comfort-of-your-home) 

Airbnb offers two different types of experiences- in person and online. Online experiences were launched during the pandemic, and are still available. The key is that the experiences are small, and hosted by locals. Airbnb takes a commission of 20% of the revenue for experiences. There are no listing fees, which minimizes risk for you. 

There are also no allowed minimum size requirements for a group. If a single person booked an experience, you are still obligated to host the experience.  More details on Airbnb experience requirements can be found here on their website. It’s a clear layout for the guidelines on creating experiences on the platform.

I was an early adopter of the Airbnb platform for stays. I started using the platform to break up the monotony of the hotel experience. I’ve used the Airbnb platform as a consumer for 10 years and experiences for 3 years. This provides a unique lens with which to evaluate what Airbnb is saying. I can tell you if it rings true with my experiences and observations as a customer. I have not participated as a seller. However I have spoken with a number of sellers that use the platform. For my longtime readers- do you remember the article on the Artisans of Istanbul?  This was entirely sourced by booking artisans on the Airbnb experiences platform. 

I do not exclusively use the platform to book stays or for travel experiences. But the platform’s ease of use has always kept it a contender when I am booking travel. I listened to the second quarter earnings call for Airbnb. I wanted to see what is being said about experiences in addition to what is happening on the main platform. My general observation is that Airbnb is starting to move the business pieces on their chess board in a very interesting way. But it will take time for the strategy to play out. It’s up to you if it makes sense to add your chess piece onto the Airbnb chess board.

Unfortunately Airbnb’s financial reporting does not break out Nights booked versus Experiences booked. The two metrics are reported together. It’s it impossible to see if the company’s growth is coming from Nights or Experiences or both.  Here are three key takeaways from that earnings call: