Airbnb has announced that it’s expanded its search feature to help travelers find places to stay based on new categories. The website redesign allows customers to search for more specific features tailored to their unique interests.
The company calls the feature Airbnb Categories. It states that Categories will allow users to find one-of-a-kind locations that they may not have thought to look for previously.
Airbnb Categories separate homes into groups based on particular traits. The Categories feature allows people to search among 4 million unusual homes and apartments.
The homes were already listed on the website, but they weren’t easy to find among the larger crowd of 6 million listings.
There are 56 categories, each including a hand-picked collection of accommodations. The listings are separated based on location, style, or proximity to attractions.
Here are just a few category examples:
- Arctic
- Treehouses
- Caves
- Domes
- Castles
Many travelers are particularly interested in staying at gorgeous homes, so Airbnb curated the “Design” category to contain thousands of places with striking architecture and interior design.
Airbnb stated that they created the “Design” category based on popular demand.
The Categories feature encourages travelers to consider their ideal experience, not just their ideal destination. Categories like “Arctic” and “Camping” will help customers view their vacations in a new light.
One amusing category is called “OMG.” It contains homes that are so unusual that Airbnb couldn’t put them in any other grouping.
The category is marked with an illustration of a UFO to emphasize the delightfully strange accommodations. One home in the United Kingdom may have inspired Airbnb’s web designers; it looks like a literal spaceship.
Categories will also help travelers who know what region they want to visit but haven’t yet figured out more specific plans. Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO, said he hopes to highlight places users wouldn’t have previously discovered.