Soon You Can Book Manicures On Airbnb: The Holiday Rental Platform Is Becoming A Lifestyle Concierge

Brian Chesky is clearly still very much in his “founder era.”

Not content with Airbnb being the planet’s go-to for holiday rentals, the 43-year-old CEO has decided it’s time for a major reinvention. Think less booking a weekend in a yurt, and more building the everything app — one that books you a facial, a luchador lesson, and maybe even a plumber.

It all started during the OpenAI drama of late 2023. Chesky, a close friend of Sam Altman, found himself deep in the tech soap opera. Once the dust settled and Altman was reinstated, Chesky, still “jacked up” from the adrenaline, turned his energy inward and began frantically mapping out Airbnb’s future — scribbling ideas across his San Francisco apartment like a tech-fuelled Jack Kerouac.

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Image @bchesky via Instagram

The result? A $200 million makeover. This month, Airbnb will relaunch with over 10,000 new service vendors across 260 cities — everything from manicurists and photographers to personal trainers and private chefs. Services that used to live on a dozen different apps will now be rolled into Airbnb’s new one-stop platform.

“Airbnb is very profitable. We’ve kind of, mostly, nailed vacation rentals,” Chesky told Wired. “But we can do more.”

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And by more, he means everything. The app’s being reengineered from the ground up. There’s a new design, new icons, and a reimagined user profile that Chesky hopes might eventually act like a passport — a trustworthy digital ID. That ambition is still a “stretch goal,” but the vision is clear: Airbnb as a credentialed, centralised platform for real-world services.

There’s also the revival of “Experiences,” the previously underwhelming activity-booking feature that’s being given the White Lotus treatment. With over 22,000 new activities — including some fronted by celebs like Conan O’Brien — Chesky wants these to become Airbnb’s calling card.

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The tech is being overseen by Jony Ive’s LoveFrom creative collective (yes, that Jony Ive), and the emphasis is on seamless design, identity verification, and user trust. Background checks, professional photos, and even biometric tools are being explored to make Airbnb’s platform not just beautiful but bulletproof.

As Chesky sees it, the future of Airbnb isn’t just about where you stay. It’s about what you do while you’re there – and who you do it with. “Magic,” he says, “is not technology. It’s the stuff you remember at the end of your life.”

That, and maybe a great haircut booked from your Airbnb app.