Airbnb Expands Their Services To Include Tours, Day Trips
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The app for finding places to lay your head while traveling is expanding.
Home-hosting app Airbnb is now letting the user find day trips, tours and other adventures.
CBS2's Tina Patel spoke to people eager to try the new options.
Juliana Mathews has used Airbnb to travel the world.
"It's just a cooler experience to me instead of staying in a regular hotel," said Mathews.
Bryan Bruce agrees. He says staying in someone's home is a more authentic travel experience.
"They'll give you little maps of the different places in the area, cafes and restaurants and things like that. It's always more helpful than having big chains that really don't care about you or your stay there," said Bruce.
Both said they were excited to hear that Airbnb is expanding, and will offer more than just recommendations for a place to stay.
Airbnb says their new "Experiences" gives travelers the chance to join a local host on an outdoor adventure or shopping trip. Juliana says she got a taste of what that would be like on one of her previous trips.
"One of our hostesses brought us all around the area and showed us what to do in Switzerland," she said.
Still, travel experts say if you are going to book a trip through an app, you need to be careful.
Tom Harrigan says if you've never been to a city before, it's hard to know if a tour or place to stay will be safe or convenient.
"You can reduce your chances for making an error if you do have a background, at least on where you're going," Harrigan says.
He also says when you book on your own, you need to look for the fine print -- to find out if there are any hidden fees or if your trip is refundable. He says that's why some of his clients prefer to use a travel agent when they're planning a big trip.
"The world's a big place and there's that many opportunities to have fun, but it's that many opportunities to make a very costly mistake," he says.
But those who have had good experiences with Airbnb say they're willing to sign on for a new experience with them.
"If a service that I use and trust is expanding, then yeah, I'd be interested in that," said Bruce.