Airbnb has moved beyond homes, now offers experiences

A shot from Airbnb's helicopter and moutain ridge run experience. Photo / Supplied

Airbnb is expanding beyond offering a place to sleep to experiences, including donning a beekeeper's suit, with the launch of Trips in Queenstown.

Originally launched in 12 cities around the world, Trips is a platform that offers homes, authentic local experiences, tips, social events and recommendations from local insiders.

Ten Queenstown-based activities designed and led by local experts include a beekeeping experience, jewellery making or a $495 helicopter mountain run.

Vice-president of product and one of Airbnb's first employees, Joe Zadeh, said since Trips was launched overseas last November, the company had been overwhelmed by feedback and interest from hosts and travellers.

Queenstown's reputation as the "adventure capital of the world", was one of the reasons Airbnb decided to debut its New Zealand launch there.

"[Queenstown] is a really interesting market that has a really great vibrant host community, a lot of interesting activities and is unlike any other city that we're launching in," Zadeh said.

"Our other cities include Paris, London, Tokyo and Los Angeles. This is a very different city, dubbed the adventure capital of the world, and we thought that we'd see some really interesting experiences there."

Airbnb has plans to expand Trips outside of Queenstown, too.

"We see Queenstown not as a final stop for New Zealand, but just the starting point. Our plan is to expand to all of New Zealand."

The experiences feature will be launched in a total of 51 cities this year.

As of today Trips Queenstown has 10 experience hosts, but Zadeh said hopes more will apply, with his sights set on hundreds.

Some advertised experiences include home coffee-brewing classes, a tour of a private winery, and a helicopter ride and mountain ridge run.

Visitors in Queenstown now have an new vista open for adventures. Photo/123RF

"Trips for us is moving beyond homes, and it's Airbnb's ambition to redesign the whole travel experience from end to end; from where you stay to what you do in the market to even how you get there one day.

"One thing we feel that separates us from other tech companies is that our technology is not there to replace people, it's there to bring out the best in people. The hosts are the real product we offer, that human connection."

Paris, Tokyo and LA are the top-booked destinations for experiences.