Airbnb launches app for both hosts and travelers!
Travel itinerary and visitor hosting is now mobile and accessible on the go with the Airbnb free mobile App! Airbnb offers easy access to the global village’s most interesting streets and corners, and offers householders a chance to earn cash from spare rooms, chalets or extensions. The service boasts in excess of 600,000 listed hosts in more than 34,000 towns and cities, meaning Airbnb can connect travelers with a tailor made hosting experience that makes the trip all the more memorable.
Travel different!
The app enables messages to be passed between guests and hosts, enabling travelers to share their itinerary with friends and “followers”, and add memorable lodgings to the “wish list” feature. Adventurous travelers can seek out “left of center” lodgings like yurts, pagodas and tree houses, or urban penthouses. Discover thousands of places to stay in more than 34,000 cities, sourced and booked directly from a tablet, smartphone or WiFi enabled mp3 player. There is a special feature enabling travelers to find last minute accommodation offers from any town, city or village on Earth, whether for a whistle-stop overnight stay or a long-term sub letting arrangement. When the traveler has successfully sourced a listing, directions can be imparted over the Airbnb app.
Perfect communication between hosts and householders
The host can also take full advantage of the app, using it to list the vacancies and manage them with full attention, while on the go. Householders can interact with potential lodgers, and screen them ahead of their stay, and make special offers to guests and potential guests from a smartphone or tablet. Hosts can use the Calendar Availability feature to communicate their schedule of vacancies and bookings in advance, and touch their screens to update on hospitality standards and expectations before guests arrive.
It is a user friendly app, however some features available from Airbnb.com in its desktop and mobile version (i.e the possibility of alerting lodgers that desks are available in the room, speed of wifi etc) are not available in the app. It is frustrating for users to have to constantly switch around between the website and app. However this is a minor pedantic niggle. The benefits of the app far outweigh the disadvantages for both traveler and host. The essential features from the mobile and desktop iterations are all quickly available ob the app, which is ideal for the lifestyle of the 21st century traveler and the savvy householder who wishes to let out their extra space. Like Airbnb itself, the mobile app is hip enough to appeal to the discerning alternative backpacker, and mainstream enough to appeal to a business traveler or vacationing family. It is a must to download now!
