In late 2016, Airbnb Experiences became all the rage in the host-guest world. By the following year, the company had expanded the offering to 200 cities worldwide and the rest, as they say, is history.
Airbnb Experiences are as popular as ever and the company expects great things to continue to come from their latest success story.
So, with all that said, you may have been asking yourself, Should I try adding an Airbnb Experience to my hosting lineup?
The Success of Airbnb Experiences
Earlier this year, Airbnb announced they expected the Experiences offering to be a profitable part of their business by late 2019. This is just 3 years after its inception and implementation. From a business standpoint, that’s pretty amazing.
At the start of 2018, Airbnb expected to have an average of 1 million Experience bookings per year – a number that they’ve surely met or nearly met by now. Based on that information alone, it’s safe to assume that offering a new Experience could be another strong potential for income, even as a side hustle.
As one of the initial “test cities” for the Experiences rollout, now that the program is officially up and running, LA is all but saturated with super-cool and unique opportunities for both travelers and locals alike to try their hand at something new. That being said, there’s still plenty of room for new Experiences to join their ranks and be the next “it” activity for travelers.
It Pays to Add an Experience
Aside from the fact that you are actually paid to set up and run your Airbnb Experience, adding it to your listing lineup can be a real boon. Here are a few reasons why:
- If your accommodation listing isn’t booking during the slow season (or during any season, for that matter) the way you’d like, you have an automatic backup plan to help you make up for lost revenue.
- Speaking of money to be made: depending on what Experience you offer, you could be raking in some serious dough.
- Guests who stay with you that also see you have an Experience will be more likely to add the excursion to their trip, thus giving you an automatic “double whammy” booking.
- Your Experience, depending on what it is and how you market it, could be enticing to not only LA visitors but locals as well. If residents like it, they’ll tell their friends, giving you an instant word-of-mouth referral business.
- Unlike with traditional accommodation bookings where guests are more interested in maintaining their privacy, hosting an Airbnb Experience gives you an opportunity to get to know your guests and interact with them more (if you’re into that kind of thing).
Things to Think About
While the typical Airbnb fee is just 3% of a guest’s accommodation booking amount, Airbnb takes a bigger cut from Experiences – a whopping 20%. That’s something you’ll want to keep in mind when pricing your Experience and considering your take-home payout.
Marketing an Experience can also go a few ways – you’d be wise to utilize some tried and trusted tips. Marketing on social media – and on Instagram, in particular – is one of the most cost-effective and generally effective ways you can garner even more interest in your Experience.
Hosting guests in your vacation rental is rewarding in a number of ways, but hosting an Airbnb Experience can be equally rewarding, too. It’s definitely worthwhile to consider adding it to your Airbnb lineup. You may find it to be more than just a fun hobby – it could be the start to your next great side hustle.
