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Airbnb rolled out a set of new features this week that seek to beef up reliability and remove the uncertainty of checking into a short-term rental.
In his ongoing attempt to grab market share from the hotel industry, CEO Brian Chesky said his company would be focusing on giving guests more information about the places they book.
“You’ve described checking into an Airbnb as the moment of truth — when you find out if the home you booked meets your expectations,” Chesky wrote on the social media platform X. “Too often, it doesn’t.”
As the clear short-term rental king, Airbnb views its main competitor not as another short-term rental platform but the hotel industry itself.
Airbnb said that uncertainty was the No. 1 reason people say they prefer hotels rather than short-term rentals.
“For every person who stays in an Airbnb, approximately nine people stay in a hotel,” Chesky told investors during an earnings call last week.
The company said it would begin showcasing the top-rated listings based on reviews and reliability. It also redesigned the review section of the platform, which it said would give travelers more information about the quality of homes.
It also added a section for travelers to find homes that have received near-perfect ratings for things like ease of check-in, cleanliness, listing accuracy, host communication, location and value.
For hosts, Airbnb added more tools so they can add more details about their listings under the listings tab.
The changes come at a time when Airbnb is walking the line to keep the costs of listings low — a win for travelers but a loss for the hosts who fuel the platform with their homes.
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