Airbnb is constantly rolling out new features and trying new things. This winter’s no different: within its 2024 winter release, Airbnb introduces the Co-Host Network along with 50 other upgrades. Co-hosting makes it less time-consuming to be a host since you can share the job with someone else. It also makes it possible for a host to buy a rental far from where they live and hire someone locally to oversee it. As much as we’d like to think the owner of our Airbnb is dedicated to the care and upkeep of only the home we’re renting—possibly their grandmother’s charming vacation cottage in Martha’s Vineyard that they just can’t seem to visit as much as they should—many Airbnb hosts can own a dozen or more properties. The new co-host feature lets owners locate and hire someone to help them set up the listing, manage bookings and communicate with guests. This feature is located in the Airbnb app and will suggest co-hosts based on a ranking algorithm. Once the two are connected, the owning host can share their calendar and payouts.
Other changes to the app benefit the renter directly, too. Of those 50 upgrades, one is a guided tour of the app for first-time users to better understand their options. Based on your search history and the places you book, the app will suggest destinations to you. And if you’ve ever lingered over a house, dismissed it and then thought better but couldn’t find it again, the app provides a shortcut to already-viewed listings. Airbnb can also offer relevant tips—for instance, if you’re searching for a six-day trip, it will suggest that you stay seven days because this particular listing has a weekly discount, or it might let you know that a listing has a fenced backyard if you’re traveling with kids. There are now more ways to pay for the stay—you might have MoMo rather than Venmo on your phone if you’re Vietnamese, for instance. The checkout page and search filters have been redesigned.
Back to the hosts, 20 upgrades for them include things like an earnings dashboard, pricing recommendations based on other rentals in the area and templates for quick replies to guests.