Airbnb is exploring the addition of packaged tours, as the accommodations-listing
service started a pilot program over the weekend, The Next Web reported.
The Next Web said that Airbnb is offering three- to five-day
trips to San Francisco that include accommodations, meals, excursions and
transportation via the Lyft ride-hailing service.
Invitations to the
program, dubbed “Journeys,” were sent out to some Airbnb users who had searched
for San Francisco accommodations but hadn’t booked their stays. Airbnb is
charging a flat fee for its “handcrafted trips,” according to The Next Web.
When contacted by Travel Weekly about its foray into tours,
Airbnb said, “We don’t have anything specific to share at this time.”
"We are always experimenting with new ways to create
meaningful experiences on Airbnb,” the company said.
Airbnb has in recent
months made moves to broaden its exposure to both more traditional travelers
and the business sector. In July, Airbnb revamped its business travel program to
better enable companies to arrange and track employee travel.
That same month, Airbnb and the San Francisco Travel
Association formed a co-marketing partnership, the first agreement of its kind
between Airbnb and a U.S. city’s travel bureau.