On Wednesday, Airbnb released its biggest change in a decade, including new categories, more options for longer stays and free insurance with every booking, according to a statement released by the company.
What’s new?
“The way people travel has changed forever,” said Brian Chesky, the CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, in the statement. “That’s why we’re introducing the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade.”
The new features will be updated in the app and available to the United States starting Wednesday, according to CNBC.
Airbnb categories: Instead of searching for a place based on city, Airbnb now offers 56 different categories of homes organized by “style, location, or proximity to a travel activity,” the statement reads.
- The categories range from OMG! — unique homes that don’t look like your traditional booking — to arctic and castle homes.
Split stays: Planning a longer stay? With the update, you can now split one stay between two homes. Airbnb states that with split stays, you’ll see about 40% more listings when planning longer stays.
- When viewing a split stay on the app, two homes will be connected by a virtual line on a map, showing the distance between the homes and sequence of the stays. Airbnb’s interface will walk you through all of the steps to book each home, one at a time, according to CNBC.
- Split stays can also be used to book two homes by category. “For example, when browsing the National Parks Category, Split Stays might suggest a pair of homes near Zion National Park and Grand Canyon,” the statement reads.
AirCover: AirCover is free protection provided with every booking.
- Booking protection guarantee: In the case that a host cancels your booking within 30 days of check-in, Airbnb will either find a similar or better home, or will offer a refund, according to Airbnb.
- Check-in guarantee: If you are unable to check into the home, and the host isn’t able to solve the issue, Airbnb says it will provide customers with a similar or better home for the length of the stay, or will issue a refund.
- Get-what-you-booked guarantee: This update will ensure that your stay will be just as advertised. Are there fewer bedrooms than listed or did an appliance stop working? If you alert Airbnb within three days, they will find a better home or issue a refund, according to Airbnb.
- Customer safety line: Airbnb states it will now offer a 24-hour customer service line, where you can call with safety concerns.