Airbnb has rolled out a new feature just in time for summer: Flexible Destinations.
Summer 2022 has begun, and it is the most open the world has been since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Flight and hotel prices are on the rise, marking the official return of travel and the summer vacation. People are booking their trips left and right as they are eager to leave home, even at higher-than-normal price points.
If you are looking to book a summer vacation, chances are you have considered using Airbnb as a more affordable alternative to hotels.
Airbnb stays vary in home type, location, and size. Some have yards and swimming pools; others are singular rooms. Airbnb has an international reach to help travelers find stays the world over.
Perhaps you spent a good portion of lockdown wanderlust dreaming, or watching shows like Netflix’s Emily in Paris and dreaming of an alternate life in another country.
Airbnb sat down and did the research. According to a travel trends report, an estimated quarter of Americans are open to traveling in off-seasons to attain better pricing.
This new Flexible Dates/Destinations feature can help those with more room in their schedule find a stay and dates that work for them. Perhaps a traveler is open to new ideas and dates and wants to browse options all over the globe until something seems sensible to book. This feature allows Airbnb to provide guests with that flexibility when searching for stays on Airbnb; in doing so, it gives hosts greater exposure to potential guests as well.
With the new feature, users can search within broad ranges of both dates and destinations, rather than filtering their results down to limited criteria. For example, say a user wants to find beach-front properties and is open to most timeframes within June, July, and August within most countries. That user can keep the search appropriately open-ended to see what’s available and make a better decision.
Conversely, if you know you can only travel within a three-week period and are open to where it is and what type of stay it is, you can search that way, too.
This unique feature helps users dream on a broader scale — to be able to see international stays and eclectic places they may never have known existed or would not have thought to go. The practice increases the visibility of hosts’ properties and widens the horizons for guests to find new and intriguing places to book their summer vacation.
Once users click the “I’m Flexible” option in the top search bar, the results will generate many hidden gems and other stays they may otherwise have missed.
CEO Brian Chesky stated that Airbnb struggled during the pandemic. Such difficulties prompted the company to think strategically about new features it could implement to continue its growth.
“We think people are ready to dream again. A lot of people have been sequestered at home for two years. Many people haven’t taken that big trip for the first time … we want to encourage people to get out of their house and venture this big world,” Chesky stated.
For those looking to go on vacation this summer, Airbnb’s flexible feature may offer the answer to when, and where, you should go.