Manila, Philippines, 10 November 2021 – In May, Airbnb introduced the Airbnb 2021 Release, with over 100 upgrades to improve every aspect of the Airbnb service. Today, the company announces an additional 50+ upgrades that make it easier to host and support the changing needs of travelers.
From March 2020 to September 2021*, new Airbnb Hosts in the Philippines who started hosting post-pandemic collectively earned over PHP207.5 million from welcoming guests on Airbnb. The world is undergoing a revolution in how we live and work. Technologies like Zoom make it possible to work from home, and Airbnb makes it possible to work from any home. This newfound flexibility is bringing about a revolution in how Filipinos travel. In a new YouGov poll commissioned by Airbnb**, over 70% of Filipinos polled said that staying in home-sharing type accommodation provides them with amenities that make it easier to integrate living with travel, and allows them to experience more unique, one-of-a-kind travel in local communities.
The survey also revealed:
- 9 out of 10 Filipino respondents would like to work, live or travel differently if they had more flexibility at work.
- A third of Filipino respondents see travel as a way of life and want to integrate it into their lifestyle.
- 77% of Filipino respondents view post-pandemic ‘business travel’ as a way to combine leisure travel and remote work.
- 45% of Filipino respondents would rent out their homes and travel.
Airbnb is constantly improving its service to meet these new travel trends, and the new waves of guests they will bring. Today, Airbnb is introducing:
- I’m (even more) Flexible – Search for more unique homes up to 12 months in advance.
- Verified Wifi – Our new speed test tool verifies the speed of the wifi in a listing.
- Translation Engine – The most advanced translation technology ever offered to our community.
- Accessibility Review – Every accessibility feature is reviewed for 100% accuracy.
- Smarter Trips Tab – A redesigned Trips tab with all your must-have travel details.
- AirCover – Top-to-bottom protection. Free for every Host. Only on Airbnb.
- Ask a Superhost Expansion – Connects new Hosts to a Superhost in their area for 1:1 help.
…and 46 more upgrades.
“For Airbnb, 2021 has been a year of relentless innovation to refine our core service,” said Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb. “This year, we’ve delivered more than 150 upgrades and innovations. Our design-driven approach means that we’re constantly improving our service to adapt to this changing world. For the first time ever, millions of people can now travel anytime, anywhere, for any length, and even live anywhere on Airbnb. This is a travel revolution.”
Making Travel even more Flexible
Flexibility is one of the most important considerations for Filipinos when it comes to travel planning. Based on Airbnb’s YouGov polling, over a third of all Filipinos polled want to have flexibility in when, how and where they go as travel rebounds.
More are opting to go on flexible trips, including long weekend trips, off-peak travel and vacations closer to home. Notably, the most appealing destinations for respondents’ first trips are 1) a local beach destination within the Philippines, followed by 2) a destination within Asia and 3) a local city destination.
Earlier this year, Airbnb introduced I’m Flexible, a whole new way to search on Airbnb when guests are flexible about where or when they are traveling. Since then, guests have used I’m Flexible more than 500 million times. Due to the popularity of this feature, today Airbnb is making it even more flexible by expanding the date range guests can search to 12 months out (from six).
With workations on the rise, fast and reliable wifi has also been more critical than ever before. In fact, this year guests on Airbnb have used the wifi filter more than 288 million times. Hosts can now test their listing’s internet connection from the Airbnb app and have their wifi speed verified. With this upgrade, guests can be confident that they won’t miss a Zoom or a favorite streaming show from their Airbnbs.
Improved Translations across 60 Languages
Globally, Airbnb has seen cross-border travel increasing steadily through the year, from 20% of gross nights booked in the first quarter to 27% in the second and 33% in the third***. As cross-border travel returns, Airbnb’s new Translation Engine will provide a seamless experience for Hosts and guests in over 60 languages. Translation Engine removes the need for click-to-translate buttons by automatically translating listing descriptions and reviews. Based on results from a study across our top ten languages we commissioned by a top machine translation evaluation company, Translation Engine improves the quality of more than 99% of Airbnb listings.
Supporting more Accessible and Organised Travel
With Accessibility Review, Airbnb has developed an industry-leading approach to review the accuracy of features that make Airbnb homes more accessible for the disability community. Hosts simply submit photos of their accessibility features, which are then manually reviewed by a specialized team of Airbnb agents. To date, Airbnb agents have reviewed and confirmed the accuracy of 100,000 accessibility features in 25,000 homes around the world.
We’ve also redesigned the Trips tab to house all your must-have travel info in one convenient place. The smarter, more intuitive tab now features a handy countdown to your arrival, check-in details, current and upcoming reservations, and personalized Experiences suggestions.
Empowering Hosts more than Ever
More guests than ever before are choosing to stay in an Airbnb, which is leading to more people wanting to host to take advantage of this growing opportunity. To offer even more reassurance to our existing four million Hosts, and make it even easier for new Hosts to take that first big step, today we are introducing AirCover. Only Airbnb gives you AirCover, which provides top-to-bottom protection for every Airbnb Host with US$1 million in damage protection and US$1 million in liability coverage. AirCover also includes income loss protection, pet damage protection, deep cleaning protection, and more.
For prospective Hosts, Airbnb’s Ask a Superhost matches anyone interested in hosting with one of our most experienced Hosts for one-on-one helpSince launch, more than 60,000 prospective Hosts have used Ask a Superhost. Today, we’re expanding Ask a Superhost to over 30 languages in 196 countries, including the Philippines. Prospective Hosts can now be paired with Superhosts based on their location, language, and listing. As an added benefit, Superhosts can provide tips for completing a listing page and are there for you through your first booking.
AirCover, Accessibility Review, Verified Wifi, I’m (even more) Flexible, and Ask a Superhost Expansion are all available to everyone today. Translation Engine and Smarter Trips Tab will launch before the end of this year.
*Airbnb internal data from March 12, 2020 to September 30, 2021
**Findings from a YouGov survey of APAC Travel Trends surveying 1038 Filipinos, commissioned by Airbnb, from October 14 to 18, 2021.
***Airbnb internal data as of September 30, 2021.
All data in this release is for Q3 2021, and all comparisons are to Q3 2019, unless otherwise specified.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on us, travel trends, and the travel industry; the future of travel; the behavior of Hosts and guests; and our future performance, prospects, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “could,” “potential,” “objective,” or “continues” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur at all.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in this travel report. Therefore, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the effects and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic on us, the travel industry, travel trends, and the global economy generally; any further and continued decline or disruption in the travel and hospitality industries or economic downturn; changes in political, business, and economic conditions; and the other risks listed or described from time to time in Airbnb’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including Airbnb’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and subsequent Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks, which will be on file with the SEC and available on the investor relations page of Airbnb’s website.
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information and estimates available to us as of the date of this press release. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release, except as required by law.
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