As you may already know from following us last Saturday on our Snapchat and Instagram stories, we spent the day up with our friends at AirBnB for an exciting launch. On Saturday, AirBnB launched it’s trips platform in Dublin which now adds unique, local experiences to the thousands of homes available to book. Dublin Experiences offer a chance for people to enjoy a different side of the city, and for locals to share their passions and interests with visitors. All the trips are designed and led by locals which allows the tourist to gather local experiences on their trip and get a real sense of community. Dublin is the 28th city to expand into Trips, with more set to launch worldwide before the end of the year. For visitors, Trips is a way to immerse themselves in communities through the eyes of locals.
At the launch, we listened to Brendan Courtney talk about his hosting experience with AirBnB, before the big news was announced. He spoke about his experience as a host and the way in which he gives people a local and homely experience when they come to visit. I was delighted to meet Airbnb’s Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Mildenhall at Oscailte, (the company’s annual gathering of Irish hosts at the Airbnb Dublin office on Hanover Quay) after he announced the exciting news. According to Jonathan Mildenhall, Airbnb CMO, “We want to make travel magical again by immersing curious visitors in local communities and offering them the opportunity to see the true character of a city through the eyes of the people who live there. Experiences are also a great way for locals to meet new people, learn a new skill or see their own cities with a fresh pair of eyes.”
In Dublin, the Experiences you can book, which start at €23 per person, cover most popular passion points across music, art, nightlife, food and outdoors:
- The Liberties By Day: Explore Dublin’s historic neighbourhoods and hidden gems, and sample artisan products from cookie companies, freshly baked breads and the most delicious sausage rolls in Dublin
- An Untold Story: Join the ultimate walking tour of historic queer Dublin hosted by an activist and historian, as he explores the social-cultural and political life of LGBTQ Dublin
- Exploring Costume: Get a unique behind the scenes perspective on the workings of the Abbey Theatre costume department. After a backstage adventure, you’ll gain unprecedented access from the Head of Costume, who will talk you through her costume design process, allowing you unique access to sketchbooks, costume fitting pictures and the finished product
- Food Styling Workshop: Step inside a food styling workshop where you’ll learn to shoot from the best angles with light and shadow tips from a renowned international food stylist who has worked with some of the biggest names in the Irish food scene
- Folk Songs in Dublin: Gain insider access into the Dublin folk scene and local music pubs with a local musician
For cities, Trips can help to diversify tourism away from busy city centres and also allows local people to participate and benefit from tourism by sharing their interests and passions, while enabling them to make a little extra money. If you are in Dublin and willing to host a unique an exclusive Experience, you can request to list it on: www.airbnb.ie/host/experiences
