愛彼迎推新服務，欲成旅游業巨頭

為了改變短租服務公司的形象，愛彼迎（Airbnb）CEO布萊恩·切斯基又要放大招了。

隨著用戶的不斷增長，切斯基希望確保愛彼迎上的短租房能達到酒店的標準，比較有干凈的床鋪和Wi-Fi等等，免得用戶失望而歸。

在不久前于舊金山舉辦的愛彼迎媒體發布會上，切斯基拋出了一系列新規劃，以吸引更多商旅出差者和家庭游客。他在發布會上表示，現在很多人認為，“愛彼迎并不適合每個人?！?

其中一個較大的變化是，愛彼迎將對現有的房型分類進行調整，添加更多的房源類型。愛彼迎官網上原先有合住房間、獨立房間、整個房源三個類型?，F在人們將能夠選擇另外四個類型：度假房源、獨特空間（即穹頂、圓頂、樹屋等特色房型）、床型與早餐、精品房源。

切斯基表示，愛彼迎的最終目標是“添加幾千個新類型”，其中甚至可能包括釀酒廠、農場等等。

該公司還將推出所謂的“精選”房源，也就是那些受到網友好評的房源，并注明商務旅客和家庭游客為什么經常選擇這些房源。比方說，家庭游客往往喜歡房子里有給小孩玩的空間，而商務旅客可能只希望房子干凈簡單就好，所以“精選”房源就是讓人們根據自己的需求選擇最匹配的房源。

另外切斯基還表示，公司還將推出新的“愛彼迎Plus”服務，這項服務主要針對“優秀房東的美麗房源”。這些房源將在搜索結果中優先顯示。將房子掛在“愛彼迎Plus”上的房東可以獲得愛彼迎在設計和攝影上的建議，從而將更好地視覺效果呈現給用戶，同時他們也能獲得公司的“高級客戶服務”，更快地解決他們遇到的問題。

“愛彼迎Plus”主要是為了將精品房源與普通房源做以區分。掛在“愛彼迎Plus”上的房源都有“標準化的生活設施”，如互聯網服務，以及配備有淋浴和干凈的馬桶、水槽的洗手間，因而感覺更像酒店的房間。

切斯基表示：“我們真的測試了每個‘愛彼迎Plus’房源的Wi-Fi?！蹦壳啊皭郾擞璓lus”的房源大概有2000多個，切斯基稱，公司還會對這些房源進行徹底檢查以確保質量。

要想把房源掛在“愛彼迎Plus”上，房東必須繳納149美元的申請費，并且接受愛彼迎員工的上門檢查。不過切斯基并未提及如果房東申請不成功，公司是否會返還這筆費用。

切斯基還提到了一年前愛彼迎以3億美元收購Luxury Rentals公司一事，并表示公司很快將推出豪華旅游產品，比如在意大利托斯卡納的圣路易吉別墅、在哥斯達黎加的阿瓦隆別墅的房源等等，這些都是你只有在電視上才能看到的豪宅。除此之外，愛彼迎還將在這些熱門旅行地提供定制游服務，比如向當地大廚學習烹飪等。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is taking big steps to change his home rental company’s image as a service for booking temporary lodgings of varying quality.

He wants Airbnb to guarantee to its growing number of users that their rentals meet hotel standards like clean beds and Wi-Fi so that customers avoid any surprises.

Too many people believe that “Airbnb is not for everyone,” Chesky said on Thursday in San Francisco at an Airbnb media event, where he outlined a number of new initiatives aimed at making Airbnb more attractive to business travelers and families.

One of the biggest changes is that Airbnb will better categorize rentals from the current options of shared rooms, private rooms, and entire homes. Now, people will get to choose from another four categories: vacation homes, unique spaces (or unconventional homes like domes, igloos, and tree-houses), bed and breakfasts, and boutique homes.

Eventually, Chesky said, Airbnb would “add thousands of new categories” that may include options like wineries and ranches.

The company is also debuting what it’s calling “collections,” in which some homes that have good reviews are grouped by why customers often rent them like family events or work travel. Whereas a family may want to rent a home that has a playground for children, for example, a business traveler may just want something clean and simple, and “collections” is intended to show people they kind of accommodation they would most likely prefer.

Additionally, Chesky unveiled a new Airbnb Plus tier for “beautiful homes from exceptional hosts” that he said would be come up higher in search results. Homeowners who list homes in the Airbnb Plus tier will get design and photography advice from Airbnb to make their homes look better to users as well as “premium customer support” that troubleshoots their problems more quickly.

This new Airbnb Plus feature is intended to weed out more hum-drum homes from the kinds of homes Airbnb would more like to stand out. Homes listed in this tier will have “standardized amenities” like Internet service and bathrooms with amenities like showers, clean toilets, and working sinks that make them more like hotel rooms.

“We literally test the Wi-Fi in every single Airbnb Plus home,” Chesky said, implying that the company will do a thorough check of homes in the program, of which there are currently 2,000.

In order to be part of Airbnb Plus, homeowners must pay Airbnb a $149 application fee and then have their homes inspected by the company’s staff. Chesky did not say whether the company would reimburse the fee to people whose homes fail to make the cut.

Chesky also talked about Airbnb’s nearly $300 million acquisition of Luxury Rentals a year ago, and said that the company would soon debut luxury travel packages. These could include expensive stays in exotic locations like the Villa San Luigi in Tuscany or the Villa Avalon in Costa Rica, both of which are like the kinds of sumptuous mansions you see on TV. Besides offering guests stays in breathtaking mansions, Airbnb will also offer custom excursions in each location, like cooking lessons with local chefs, Chesky said.