Airbnb goes back to basics with renewed focus on private room rentals
Airbnb is going back to its roots, the company has announced, with a renewed focus on renting out single rooms to travellers concerned about cost-of-living increases.
Labelled Airbnb Rooms, the short-term rental app will launch a range of features designed to encourage travellers to consider renting a single room in a house to save money and have new experiences on the move.
Travellers will be able to search specifically for private rooms and see how much they would save over renting a whole flat or house, and a new set of filters lets them see only rooms with a private en suite bathroom. The company will also flag which private rooms do not have an internal or external lock, allowing guests to ensure that they have a minimum level of privacy before booking.
“One of the things we know that’s on people’s mind is inflation and the possibility of a recession,” Nate Blecharczyk, the co-founder of the company, said. “And so money really matters. We think that Private Rooms is a very compelling value proposition and the time is right for this category to be rediscovered and relaunched.”
The average price for an Airbnb room in the UK is £59 a night, Blecharczyk says, and globally, more than 80% of stays in private rooms were less than $100 (£80) a night.
“Airbnb has something for everyone: every price point, every location, every configuration,” he added. “Now you can toggle between searching for rooms of homes, you can see how it changes the value proposition dramatically. It’s very clear.”
The change in focus marks a return to basics for the company, which started in 2007 when roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia began renting out space on air mattresses in their San Francisco living room. Blecharczyk joined in 2008 as the
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