Airbnb’s New Events Tool Is a Major Missed Opportunity
Photo Credit: A promotional image from Airbnb for Events. The company has launched a tool for event organizers to show Airbnb listings near an event. Airbnb
Skift Take
Airbnb has formally entered the meetings and events sector with a simple widget and landing page. It will be much more interesting when Airbnb decides to use its platform to sell actual meeting space to organizers, since a global race is on among technology platforms to crack the online booking market for small and simple meetings.
When Airbnb's leadership held a giant event earlier this year to announce sweeping changes to the company's products and platform, little was said about its strategy to crack the lucrative meetings and events sector.
Airbnb has spent the last couple of years becoming better connected to the corporate travel ecosystem, but competing on meetings has taken a back seat.
Airbnb this week released a tool for meeting planners and group travelers to show Airbnb properties near an event. It's essentially a do-it-yourself tool that creates a landing page for an event on Airbnb along with a widget featuring a map for your website under the new brand Airbnb for Events. The following link is an example of a landing page. (Please don't book a room for the party because there ac
