All Of The Changes Coming To Airbnb That Will Make Booking Your Next Trip Easier

If you've ever used Airbnb, you know the platform has been in need of improvements for some time. Between scammy listings, hosts that cancel at the last minute, and outlandish cleaning fees, Airbnb has been on the verge of becoming worse than hotels. After all, who wants to plan a vacation somewhere just to find out your accommodation was mysteriously canceled or end their vacation by cleaning the whole place (even after paying a cleaning fee)?

These were just a few of the repeated complaints that sparked the recent wave of changes that Airbnb is making to the booking platform. One of the latest features is the price transparency toggle when you're browsing listings. It allows you to see the total cost of your stay before taxes and not just the nightly rate. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Airbnb has a lot more in store to help improve guests' experience.

One of the changes that Airbnb is making that we think will revolutionize your experience is their new verification process. To reduce the rising number of scams, the company is implementing a way for hosts to prove their accommodations are real, located where listed, and will live up to the expectations set by the listing. This is not only to prevent guests from having money stolen and being left stranded without accommodations, but also to massively improve safety.

Airbnb will carry out this verification process by having hosts upload proof, including real-time/live images and videos while they are at the property. Airbnb will also use data analysis to prove that the accommodation is where the host says it's located. Part of this process will be powered by AI, but if there is any question that the listing is not what the host claims it to be, then a human will intervene to verify. While we wish that every Airbnb could be verified by a real person, there is something comforting in knowing that this process at least exists. However, we won't know how effective it is until more data is acquired.

Are you traveling with a pet and frustrated you can't narrow down your search to pet-friendly Airbnbs? Now you can! You can also sort by accommodations that have king-sized beds so you can spread out. No more fighting over the sheets on vacation because you didn't notice the listing said the bed was full-sized.

If you're staying in a room at an Airbnb, you can now see if the bathrooms are shared, if the bedroom doors have locks, and who else will be staying at the accommodation with you. Hosts also now have the ability to share their checkout instructions so you can avoid places where you don't want to be on the hook for trash and other cleaning tasks. Last but not least, guests who have experienced last-minute cancellations will rejoice with this new policy update: Most guests will now automatically receive rebooking credits in case the host cancels at the last minute.