by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:30 PM ET, Wed November 8, 2023
Airbnb announced new upgrades to its booking platform to highlight
homes and properties with near-perfect ratings, dubbed Guest Favorites.
Airbnb officials said the decision to revamp ratings and
reviews pages was made to become more competitive with hotels and create a more
reliable experience for travelers.
The company’s Guest Favorites collection consists of over
two million homes that have been categorized as "most loved" based on
reviews and reliability, as well as boasting ratings above 4.9 stars on
average.
“Airbnb is pretty big,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told Reuters.
“For as big as we are, almost 10 times as many people stay in hotels.”
Chesky also revealed the company booked 113.2 million nights
and experiences during the third quarter, a 14 percent increase from last year.
In addition, he said about 23 percent of first-time Airbnb guests book a
low-rated home.
Airbnb
also updated its rating system to allow travelers to sort through reviews and
introduced a new set of tools for hosts to share more details about their
listings.
The new tools include an artificial intelligence-powered
photo tour that organizes images by room to help guests understand each rental
property’s layout. The company also plans to announce improvements to its
customer service next summer.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
