Airbnb Overhauls How You Discover Stays, Its Biggest Revamp in a Decade

From CNET: Airbnb on Wednesday revamped how it curates listings, part of an overhaul that CEO Brian Chesky calls the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade.

The biggest shift is the introduction of categories as a primary way of discovering places to stay. But the changes, which Airbnb is referring to collectively as Summer Release 2022, also includes a new cluster of traveler protections included free with all bookings and the ability to book "split stays" that can help you find lodging matches at two different homes during your trip.

Airbnb's changes come as travel is expected not only to increase in the unwinding of COVID restrictions but also to morph as people reimagine travel in post-pandemic life. US travel and tourism is expected to exceed prepandemic levels this year, according to industry trade group World Travel & Tourism Council, with international travel seen coming close.

Airbnb's new categories are aimed at solving the travel-shopping dilemma that the starting point on most travel-booking sites is the travel destination, making people first decide where they want to go before being able to search for the kind of place they want to stay. That can result in time wasted searching multiple areas individually if all you really wanted was some house, any house with a pool somewhere warm.

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