Room-sharing giant also listing hotels and plans ultra-luxe Beyond service. Home-sharing giant Airbnb announced a new service, Airbnb Plus, this morning, part of a long-awaited strategy announcement, as well as confirmation that the room-sharing service seeks to promote higher-quality, more hotel-like experiences.
The Plus service promotes homes that represent a higher-tier of quality, ?meet a 100-plus point quality inspection? and are run by hosts ?known for great reviews and attention to detail,? according to a announcement on the company?s website. Going forward, these homes will be identified with a plus badge.
Plus was part of a larger strategy announcement the company held today in San Francisco, to mark its 10th anniversary. A New York Times story noted that the service launches with 2,000 homes in 13 cities, including Toronto, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Milan, and hopes to expand to 75,000 homes in 50 cities by the end of the year. All hosts on the service will be ?highly rated,? meaning they have a 4.8 or higher rating. Each Plus home meets a 100-point quality checklist, which includes a stocked kitchen, standard amenities such as ironing boards, as well as bathrooms with toiletries and two sets of towels that are free of personal items. Hosts apply to have their spaces accepted into the program, which requires a $149 fee, and once they?re accepted, each home or room will be shot by photographers sent by the company.
Here are examples of Plus homes in Sh...