Airbnb has added Osaka in experiences and Tokyo in guidebooks on the Trips Platform since March 21 2017. The vacation rental marketplace has a plan to extend experiences to 51 cities in the world by the end of 2017 and guidebooks to 12 cities by the end March 2017, which were revealed by Joe Gebbia, Airbnb CPO, who visited Japan to explain the new service.
Gebbia said at a new conference in Tokyo that Airbnb can offer magical travel services more simply by integrating a variety of experiences on a platform. For tourism, the Trips is expected to help travelers deepen local cultures and local communities have big economic benefits, he added.
Airbnb launched the Trips in November last year in addition to the vacation rental marketplace. Experiences are available in 14 cities including Tokyo and Osaka, and guidebooks, which are functions for local people to introduce local hot spots, are available in seven cities including Tokyo.
Experiences in Tokyo already doubled to 100 from the beginning, and Tokyo is the second most popular experience destination following Paris. The average price of an experience is $91 per guest, and 91% of all experiences are rated at five stars on the review evaluation, according to Gebbia.
In Osaka, the service started with 10 experience programs, and the guidebook in Tokyo introduces 450 spots by 50 or more local hosts.
Gebbia also mentioned the new vacation rental law of Japan, which was just approved by the Cabinet. "We welcome it," he said. "It is important for us to make closer communication with our hosts to send right information."
