Launches Airbnb Categories, Split Stays and AirCover for guests

Last year, Airbnb had released 150 upgrades to improve every aspect of its service. Now, the company has launched the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade including:

• Airbnb Categories – A new way to search that makes it easy to discover homes guests did not know existed.
• Split Stays – A feature that provides more options for longer stays by splitting the trip between two homes.
• AirCover for guests – A comprehensive protection in travel, included for free with every stay.

“The way people travel has changed forever. That’s why we’re introducing the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade,” said Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb. “First, people are more flexible about where they live and work, so we’ve designed a new way to search with Airbnb Categories. Second, people are taking longer trips, so we created Split Stays to give you more options by splitting your trip between two homes. And third, we’re introducing AirCover for guests, giving you the confidence to book knowing that Airbnb’s got your back.” 

Airbnb Categories aims to make it easy to discover millions of unique homes. When guests open Airbnb, trhey will be presented with 56 categories that organise homes based on their style, location or proximity to a travel activity. If a user searches for a destination, their search results will also be organised by categories that are relevant to that destination. 

Split Stays is a feature that splits the trip between two homes. With Split Stays, users will typically see around 40% more listings when searching for longer stays.

When searching a specific destination, Split Stays will automatically appear in the search results. They will also appear within 14 categories — including Camping, National Parks, Skiing and Surfing — to inspire users to stay in two destinations as part of a longer trip. For example, when browsing the National Parks Category, Split Stays might suggest a pair of homes near Kanha Tiger Reserve and Bandhavgarh National Park.

AirCover aims to be a comprehensive protection in travel. AirCover will always be included and always free. With AirCover, guests will be covered by four protections every time they stay on Airbnb – Booking Protection Guarantee, Check-in Guarantee, Get-What-You-Booked Guarantee and 24-hour Safety Line.