Airbnb adds upgrades as travel rebounds this summer

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Airbnb announced upgrades across their entire service to meet a new era in travel including new ways for guests to search on the platform, an easy 10-step process to become a Host, and better customer support for Hosts and guests.

As pandemic restrictions gradually lift, travel is looking different. Travelers are shifting from traveling at all the same times to all the same old places to many of them living anywhere, at any time, for however long.

“We believe this will be the biggest travel rebound in a century,” said Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb.

According to Airbnb’s recent Report on Travel & Living, this travel rebound is not a temporary reaction to these many months of restrictions and isolation, it’s a step toward a world in which living and traveling are one and the same. With 200 million date-flexible searches since the start of the year and bookings in 94,000 cities in the 12 months ending April 30, 2021, this shows that people are less tethered and more flexible on when, where, and for how long they can travel.

Inspired by this major travel shift, Airbnb is upgrading its service to make it easier for people to integrate travel into their lives, and for more people to become Hosts.

Liz DeBold Fusco, Communications Leads for North America for Airbnb, joined Good Evening San Diego to discuss Airbnb in San Diego.