‍👉 Background: Airbnb was founded in 2008 in San Francisco, back when the idea of sleeping in someone else’s house sounded more like a horror film. Since then, it has hosted over 2 billion guests arrivals in run-of-the-mill apartments and also some really wacky properties like a yellow submarine, a windmill or a snow igloo.‍

👉 What happened: But being a property listing website is so last decade. Now, Airbnb has launched a redesigned app so it’s less accommodation and more of an everything-travel-app. You can now order a spa treatment, book a personal trainer…hire a chef through the app with its new Services tabs.

👉 What else: It ain’t no coincidence that Airbnb is pushing deeper into the experiences space after it previously warned of slowing bookings in the US — largely off the back of on-again, off-again tariffs. So, the idea is that these new offerings will appeal to travellers who want more unique and personalised holidays… not just a place to sleep. All part of Airbnb’s plan to grow its share of wallet.‍

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What's the key learning?

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💡Share of wallet refers to how much of a consumer’s total spending in a category goes to one brand. When it comes to travel, your wallet gets sliced up like a pizza: flights, accommodation, food, activities and transport.

💡Traditionally, Airbnb only captured the accommodation slice. And in 2016, after launching the first version of Experiences, it began to tap into this… and it kept growing and growing. With the launch of Airbnb Services and the growth of Airbnb Experiences, it’s trying to win a larger chunk of the holiday budget.

💡The idea is that customers already trust Airbnb for accommodation… so they’ll be willing to spend more on other interesting services too. And, given Airbnb’s net income has fallen nearly 42% in the most recent quarter, it needs to find some new growth channels.