Airbnb branded a 'disaster' after announcing controversial new 'services' feature

It's been 17 years since Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky was mocked about the idea of us inviting a stranger into our home to stay for a night, a weekend, or even longer, but he's done plenty to prove the skeptics wrong. In 2025, Airbnb is many people's go-to choice when it comes to booking accommodation as Chesky continues to look to the future.

Even all these years later, Airbnb is trying to innovate to ensure it continues standing out from the crowd against the likes of Whimstay, Vacasa, and Vrbo.

Chesky himself tried to promote Airbnb in the early days, even renting out his own home to prove how viable the idea was. Now, he's announced the new 'services' addition to the app, allowing customers in 260 cities to book luxury services like massages, private chefs, personal trainers, and more. Despite the luxury moniker, Airbnb has said they'll cost below $50.

Cheering this new era, Chesky said: "17 years ago, we changed the way people travel. More than two billion guests later, Airbnb is synonymous with a place to stay.

“With the launch of services and experiences, we’re changing travel again. Now you can Airbnb more than an Airbnb."

This comes after Airbnb shared concerns that President Donald Trump's trade tariffs could lead to a slump in bookings. As shares fell, Airbnb predicted disappointing Q2 forecasts as it expects revenue between $2.99 billion and $3.05 billion - with a midpoint below analysts' estimates of $3.04 billion.

Taking tariffs on the chin, Chesky cheered the introduction of services and said: "People choose hotels for their services. People choose Airbnbs for the space... now, we're giving you the best of both worlds."

It's not just those staying in an Airbnb who can book services, so for those wanting a spa treatment, photographer, or hair stylist, you can order them to your home via the new tab in the app.

The experiences option was launched back in 2016 but is also getting an overhaul, letting users book the likes of bespoke museum tours and activities like watersports. Finally, Airbnb is rolling out an update to its Icon Series idea that let you stay in unique homes like the house from Up or Charles Xavier's X-Men mansion. Airbnb Originals allows you to splash the cash on once-in-a-lifetime experiences like playing beach volleyball with Olympian Carol Solberg or hanging out with Sabrina Carpenter.

While Airbnb looks like it's future-proofing itself, the evolution has been slammed online.

One angry X user wrote: "Airbnb is a disaster. Nobody wants to book a yoga lesson or get groceries on Airbnb, we just want the $600 cleaning fee to go away.”

Another complained: "This will be the downfall of Airbnb. You can’t even get your core product right. Airbnb is a terrible experience full of scams and people pretending to be homeowners when it’s a large corporations. The fees are through the roof."

A third skeptic concluded: "It reminds me of the dying days of WeWork when they were talking about opening WeSchool for learning, WeBand for musicians, WeCook for pop-up restaurants. Hope it’s not the case for Airbnb."

While Chesky is looking brightly to the future of Airbnb, it's clear many think this might be a step too far.