Airbnb is breaking into the one-stop-shop travel industry, beyond its lodging offering, by recently launching Airbnb trips in select cities.
Users can peruse “Experiences” for their vacation by interest and city. These are tours given by locals based on an array of interests: biking, shopping, eating, etc.
It’s no surprise the company is expanding its offering into more than just a place for travelers to rest their head—and it’s important — as more and more people seem to like experiences over things.
In order to gauge what kind of consumer would be interested in Airbnb’s new tour-based offering, we ran a question to see how likely people are to book vacation tours given by a person or company when traveling to a new place.
The top line results show that 22% of the general population is at all likely to book a vacation tour like this.
In order to know who is already on board for trying out these private tours – and who may be more difficult to reach – we decided to break down demographics and interests of all three below. It just so happens that age is a key indicator for all 3 answer choices.
Very likely
More likely to be 55 and older
These folks are more likely to be women as well as wine drinkers. Partner with sommeliers or vineyards for tours? Advertise in Wine Spectator? Just some ideas…
Those who answered “Very Likely” are also more likely to buy organic food and own an e-book reader when comparing them to the general population.
These folks are also likely to answer that they manage their money well and are diligent savers. When considering that they’re more likely to be 55 or older, this comes as no surprise.
This may or may not be the group Airbnb is targeting, but it’s something to consider to widen its user base, and it’s also the group that has the time to travel. E-reader ads? It’s something to consider.
Somewhat likely
More likely to be 18-34 year-olds
Again here: Those who answered “Somewhat Likely” are more likely to be women, and also love wine. But, they are younger; more likely to be between 18 and 34 years old.
They are also more likely to make donations to environmental, cultural, health and educational organizations. To us, it appears this group wants to make a difference with the money they have.
They are also more likely to follow travel, home and cooking TV shows and are highly likely to favor locally owned businesses. Perhaps money is a factor when it comes to being on the fence about hiring a tour guide or company (compared to the “Very Likely” group) which may be due to their age.
Featuring a broad array of options of all price points will behoove Airbnb to adopt the 18-34 generation. Maybe the company could partner with an organization that helps people in need, in order to gain new participants who make giving back a priority.
Not at all likely
More likely to be 35-54-year-olds
All in all, men are more likely to answer “Not at all likely.” Not surprising.
However, those who actively use Twitter, and also those who regularly eat at fast food restaurants are “Not at all Likely” to hire a tour guide or company when traveling. Could these men be swayed with Twitter ads or influencers?
Age is clearly a distinguishing factor in this question overall. Regardless of gender, 34-54-year-olds are the group more likely to answer “Not at all Likely.” Maybe this group is more apt to use the “Places” offering on the app and simply wants recommendations before venturing off on their own. Or maybe they just don’t vacation very much.
When it comes down to it, women are the ticket when it comes to Airbnb’s new “Experience” offerings, and men may be a bit of a stretch. We think ensuring trust between users and their tour hosts will be important to establish to increase adoption among both current and future users of Airbnb’s new services. Keeping wine lovers and lower price points in mind wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
