Airbnb announced a series of new platform features designed to facilitate connections between travelers, refine property searches, and expand its artificial intelligence-powered customer support. The updates introduce social components to its Experiences service and alter how users find and view potential accommodations.
The introduction of these social features builds upon the foundation of Airbnb Experiences, which the company launched earlier this year. This service allows travelers to book activities, such as guided tours or cooking classes, that are participated in by groups of users. During the initial rollout of Experiences, the company indicated that future updates would focus on fostering greater connection among its user base. The latest release directly addresses this by integrating new social functionalities into the booking and post-activity process.
When a user books an Experience, the platform will now display the names and hometowns of other individuals scheduled to attend the same event. This visibility is designed to create a sense of community before the activity begins. Following the conclusion of the Experience, participants are given the tools to maintain contact. Users can send message requests to others they met, and upon acceptance, can engage in private chats through the app. This feature is intended for purposes such as exchanging photographs from the event or coordinating subsequent plans. To manage these new contacts, a dedicated “Connections” tab has been added to user profiles, which lists all individuals a user has connected with after an Experience.
In developing these features, Airbnb stated it has incorporated specific privacy controls. Upon booking an Experience, each user is presented with a pop-up notification. This prompt asks for explicit permission to share their profile picture, first name, and city of origin with other participants. Should a user dismiss this notification or not actively consent, the system defaults to a “don’t share” setting. In this private mode, other attendees will only be able to see the profile picture and initials that the user has chosen to display, protecting their full name and location information from being public within the event group.
The company has also implemented user safety and moderation protocols for these new interactions. Users retain the ability to block or report any other user at any time. All reports submitted are directed to Airbnb’s community team for review and action. Furthermore, even after a connection request has been accepted, a user can choose to remove that person from their Connections list. These features were first teased during the company’s summer release in May, with the stated objective of increasing user interaction, which could in turn lead to more bookings for both properties and Experiences. The company acknowledges that, like any platform with chat-based social features, it will need to manage potential moderation challenges.
As part of its winter release, Airbnb has also introduced a redesigned search experience aimed at showing users properties that fall just outside their specified filters. This is presented through three distinct, scrollable lists, or carousels, within the search results page. The first carousel displays properties that are priced slightly above the user’s set maximum budget. The second highlights properties that may be missing one of the specific amenities selected in the filter, such as a swimming pool. The third carousel suggests properties located in nearby areas that otherwise meet the user’s criteria. Airbnb explained that this change is based on observing user behavior, noting that travelers frequently adjust their search parameters and ultimately book listings that did not match their initial, strict constraints.
The platform’s maps view has also been updated. It will now display various points of interest in the vicinity of a property, including local landmarks, attractions, and restaurants. Users can tap on any of these points of interest on the map to pull up a description and view its distance from the rental property they are considering. This feature is intended to provide more contextual information about a location and encourage travelers to use the Airbnb application as a resource during their trip.
Finally, the company is expanding the reach and capabilities of its AI-powered customer service assistant. Initially launched in the United States, the tool is now available to users in Mexico and Canada. To support this expansion, the assistant now operates in English, Spanish, and French. The AI’s functionality has been enhanced to provide more detailed and personalized answers by drawing from a user’s profile information, booking history, and current reservation details. Additionally, the chat interface will now include quick action cards, which are designed to help users efficiently perform common tasks such as requesting a cancellation or modifying reservation dates directly within the support chat.
