Airbnb Now Lets You Book Meals, Haircuts, Museum Trips, and More
Airbnb is no longer just a platform for finding a cozy place to sleep while you’re traveling. The company is transforming into a full-scale travel companion, now offering a wide range of local services and curated experiences to enhance every part of your trip—from what you eat to how you explore.
With the newest version of the app, Airbnb users can now book more than just accommodations. The app introduces two new sections—Experiences and Services—that allow travelers to tap into a wide variety of offerings. Whether you’re interested in hiring a personal chef, indulging in a massage, taking a cooking class, or exploring a city’s hidden cultural gems with a local guide, Airbnb is positioning itself as your all-in-one travel assistant.
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky explained the vision behind this expansion by drawing a comparison between traditional hotels and Airbnb stays. Hotels, he said, have long been associated with convenience and services, while Airbnb has always offered more personal space and unique homes. With these new additions, Airbnb is trying to combine the strengths of both approaches—pairing the comfort and space of a private home with the convenience and luxury of hotel-style services.
At launch, the Services section includes ten categories available in 260 cities worldwide. These services cover a wide range of needs and luxuries, such as private chefs, professional photographers, massage therapists, personal trainers, hairstylists, makeup artists, nail technicians, and even full catering options. Travelers can also order ready-to-eat meals directly to their Airbnb rentals.
To ensure quality and safety, all service providers go through Airbnb’s internal verification process. This includes submitting relevant licenses and certifications, and most providers will have at least a decade of experience in their respective fields. When browsing services, users can view each provider’s credentials, see pricing information, and even check portfolios—such as photo samples for photographers—before booking. Many services are competitively priced, with some starting as low as $50.
The new Experiences tab expands on Airbnb’s earlier push into local tourism and leisure activities. Currently available in 650 cities, it enables users to book immersive experiences guided by locals who have deep knowledge of the area. These experiences are grouped into several categories, including cultural tours, museum visits, food tastings, cooking classes, outdoor adventures, art walks, and wellness sessions.
For instance, a traveler interested in exploring Goa could book a guided cultural tour that includes a detailed itinerary, the guide’s name and ratings, customer reviews, and estimated duration. This helps travelers feel more connected to the places they visit while also supporting local entrepreneurs. Airbnb is also welcoming new hosts to apply to offer their own experiences through the app.
To make the offering even more exclusive, Airbnb has launched a premium line called Airbnb Originals. These are celebrity-hosted events and lessons, such as beach volleyball sessions with Olympic athlete Carol Solberg in Brazil or pastry classes with renowned chef Raphaelle Elbaz in Paris. And this is just the beginning—more experiences featuring artists and performers, including a behind-the-scenes day with singer Sabrina Carpenter, are in the pipeline.
Looking ahead, Airbnb plans to add social features to the app, allowing users to see who else has participated in an experience and reach out to them directly with feedback or questions. These interactions will include privacy settings that allow for transparency and safety.
Beyond these major additions, Airbnb has also rolled out several updates to its user interface. The Messages tab now supports multimedia sharing, including photos and videos, while the Profile section has been redesigned to include a record of your travel history and past hosts you’ve connected with.
All these updates are part of a broader $200 million transformation of the platform. According to Chesky, the next phases of Airbnb’s redesign will focus on turning your profile into something more meaningful—almost like a digital passport—and embedding more advanced AI features to enhance user experience.
Airbnb is betting big on becoming a one-stop shop for everything travel-related, and with these changes, it’s making a strong case for being more than just a home rental service. Whether you’re looking to discover a city through the eyes of a local or have a private chef cook dinner in your temporary home, Airbnb is positioning itself as the platform that can do it all.
