After a Decade Airbnb Gets a Big Redesign

Travel lodging company Airbnb has had a big redesign, the biggest in a decade.

The company announced several updates to its platform this week with Chief Executive Brian Chesky calling it “the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade.”

The features, announced during its virtual summer event, include a new way to search, splitting stays between homes and guest protections.

The updates rolled out in the U.S. on Wednesday and globally this week.

New features include a new way to search, the option to split stays between homes and additional guest protections.

When a user opens the platform, they’ll be presented with 56 categories that organize homes based on their style, location or proximity to a travel activity. If a person searches for a particular place, the results are also organized by categories that are relevant to the destination.

Style categories range from “amazing views” to “earth homes.” Location categories include places such as national parks and vineyards, while activity categories include things like camping and golfing.

“Airbnb Categories organize homes by what makes them unique, which helps people discover places they wouldn’t have otherwise found. This can help alleviate over-tourism by redistributing travel to new locations beyond the same popular destinations,” the company said in a release.

Airbnb is expecting a busy traveling season this summer with the company recently giving an upbeat forecast when it announced earnings earlier this month.

For the second quarter the company said that nights and experiences booked had surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Nights booked in the first quarter of 2022 for summer travel to unique homes increased 80% compared to 2019, the company said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.