Airbnb is connecting travelers to experts with its new Experiences feature

Since it was founded in 2008, Airbnb has grown to host more than 300 million listings in 191 countries. Travelers now have another option besides hotels when looking for accommodations.

In November, Airbnb took its travel services to the next level by launching Trips, a feature that allows users to plan more than just accommodations. It includes Experiences, a tool that helps connect travelers with activities guided by experts.

At Business Insider's IGNITION conference last year, Airbnb cofounder Nathan Blecharczyk discussed the new feature.

"We're seeing Airbnb going forward as a platform for the entire trip," Blecharczyk said. "It's now possible for ordinary people to share their passion, the things they're interested in."

One popular experience is mushroom foraging in Tuscany, Italy.

"It's a long tail of experiences that previously couldn't be offered at scale so they simply didn't exist," Blecharczyk said.

While these experiences cost extra, the company believes it's a feature that users will gladly pay for.

"We have a massive community, and people who have grown a real appreciation for traveling and having authentic experiences when they travel," Blecharczyk said.

Since launching eight months ago, the feature has expanded to 13 cities and 700 listed experiences.

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