Airbnb Expands Beyond Accommodation Sharing to Offer Hotel Services Like Chef and Spa

Chesky: "Building a Global Community Through Offline Connections"

Airbnb, the world's largest accommodation-sharing platform, has announced plans to expand beyond lodging reservations to offer a variety of hotel services and travel experiences.

Brian Chesky Airbnb co-founder and CEO. Photo by AFP

Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and CEO, stated at the "2025 Airbnb Summer Release" event held in Los Angeles, United States on May 13 (local time), "Seventeen years ago, Airbnb completely changed the way people travel. With these newly launched services, we will once again transform the landscape of travel."

The "Airbnb Services" unveiled for the first time that day will allow guests at Airbnb accommodations to access a wide range of services typically found in hotels, such as room service, fitness, and spa treatments.

Airbnb will initially introduce this service in 260 cities worldwide, across 10 categories. The service areas include chef services, photography, massage, personal training, hair, makeup, nails, ready-made meals, and catering. Airbnb explained that it will connect guests with hosts who are professionals with an average of 10 years of experience and who hold the necessary licenses and certifications.

Additionally, Airbnb will launch a booking feature for "Experiences" that reflect the unique characteristics of each travel destination. In particular, it will introduce new "Airbnb Originals" experiences, where world-renowned celebrities host events in different regions. For example, in the United States, guests can learn how to throw a football and enjoy a barbecue with a professional football player, while in Seoul, they can participate in events alongside a K-pop group.

Chesky explained, "You can book services even if you are not staying at an Airbnb accommodation. If you need makeup for an event or want to order catering, you can make a reservation directly through the app." He continued, "What Airbnb is building goes beyond a simple travel app; we are creating a global community where people can travel anywhere and belong anywhere in the real world. Our greatest asset is the relationships we have with our guests. In the future, we will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to help people step away from their devices and engage more with the real world."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.