News
AirBnB announces dozens of Upgrades
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
May 10, 2023 – Vacation rental company AirBnB has announced over 50 upgrades to its app including a brand new feature, AirBnB Rooms, which will allow guests to share homes with their hosts.
Describing it as their most extensive suite of upgrades ever, the company said the revamp was prompted by the 300 million guests they’re expecting to use their service in summer of 2023. The new service is being pitched as the affordable way to vacation as millions slake their thirst for travel.
“In the current economic environment, people want to travel affordably, and after years of being isolated during the
Most of these Rooms are under 100 dollars a night, and the company already has over a million listings ready to go. Guests will be able to see ‘Host Passports’ detailing who they will be staying with before booking.
Travelers looking to use this feature can select it in-app as a filter to weed out all the homes, apartments, and other available listings. The upgrade also comes with new privacy features including lock indicators, privacy indicators, and ‘other guest’ indicators.
The company did not detail the safety measures that would be taken to ensure guests would be secure in these rooms.
The company’s reputation has taken a blow in recent years as guests complain about demanding hosts with high cleaning fees, hosts harassing guests, false listings, and more. Now the company says as part of the upgrades, travelers will be able to report excessive requests, and have priority access to customer service.
The Turks and Caicos Government has been trying to get more locals to engage in vacation listings in the lucrative Turks and Caicos tourism market. A cursory search of private rooms in the TCI revealed just over 85 listings while total listings numbered just over 115.