Airbnb Launches Home and Experiences Category Called 'Icons'

01.05.2024 - 18:45 / skift.com / Paris Olympics / Dennis Schaal / Kevin Hart / Jay Carney

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has frequently mentioned the creative ways the brand has tried to stay top of mind beyond traditional advertising. This included its Barbie House, which attracted the 250 million social media impressions last year.

On Wednesday, Airbnb went further with the launch of an attention-grabbing category of experiences and stays called Icons. Through the Airbnb app, consumers will be able to vie to hang out with Kevin Hart and his entourage in his “secret speakeasy,” or spend a night in Prince’s Purple Rain House in Minneapolis.

There are 11 Icons at launch. Two of them are stays inside Disney and Pixar’s Up house and the “Headquarters” of their flick Inside Out 2.

There are overnights at the Ferrari Museum; Musée d’Orsay to get a view of the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies from the terrace; Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor’s digs where she’ll share her favorite southern India culinary delights; an overnight gaming experience in Milan with TikTok celeb Khaby Lame; and a “stay in a 2D animated re-creation of Marvel Animation’s X-Mansion in Westchester, New York.”

There is also the chance to take in a living room performance by Grammy award winner Doja Cat and going on a week-long tour with Reggaeton star Reid.

Most of the Icons will be available for free and the rest will go for less than $100 per guest, said Airbnb.

Airbnb plans to make 4,000 tickets to these Icons available in 2024. Selected guests need to verify their identity and may have to undergo background checks due to security concerns, said Jay Carney, who heads Airbnb’s global policy, communications and crisis management teams.

With tickets to these stays and experiences being freebies or low cost, how will Airbnb make money?

Airbnb’s Chesky told Skift that Icons really isn’t a business, but a “cool thing we are doing.”

“The most important [thing] is this is the gateway to experiences … It’s a stepping stone to where we’re taking Airbnb. And so next year, we’re gonna have something really big coming out. All that stuff is going to be built on the back of this.”

Airbnb’s experiences business has been in limbo for a year. The company still offers these tours and activities, but it isn’t accepting new applications.

Airbnb characterizes these 11 Icons as “experiences” even though the majority also involve a stay.

In a separate interview, Carney said Icons is a way to show people that Airbnb is “expanding beyond our core,” adding “this is a way of indicating to people that Airbnb is about more than just a place to stay.”

Icons may also turn out to be an effective way to reach customers who may not have considered Airbnb before.

“This is the best way to reach specific audiences,” Chesky said. “If you want to reach Ferrari