Whether you’re looking to jet off on that trip of a lifetime or you’re wanting to live an exotic digital-nomad lifestyle, the post-pandemic travel boom is on. And that goes for travelling solo, too. In fact, Airbnb has reported that more than a quarter of all bookings on its platform in 2021 were for people travelling alone – and that number is even higher for long-term rentals.
Travelling on yer ones is as popular as ever, so Airbnb is introducing a bunch of features specifically designed to help out lone travellers. They’re calling it the ‘solo traveller experience’ and it’ll be triggered within the app once anyone books a rental on their own.
So what are the new features? Well, for starters the app will have a ton of ‘expert tips’ on how to stay safe. When messaging your host, it’ll also come up with prompts to suggest certain questions about neighbourhoods or other guests at the rental.
But that isn’t all. Travellers will also be given the opportunity to share their reservation itinerary details with a trusted contact. That info will include the listing address, reservation code and check-in and check-out dates, and comes on top of an existing feature that lets you add an emergency contact to your profile.
The ‘solo traveller’ features are currently only available for English-language users, though Airbnb does already have a few safety measures in place. The app currently has a 24-hour safety line and in-app emergency services contacts for more than 70 countries and regions.
Sure, these features might seem a little simple, but everything counts when it comes to making travel safer for solo travellers. If you want to find out more, you can read the press release here.
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