Airbnb is upping its game in experiential travel with a star-powered initiative. Bollywood actor and wellness enthusiast Sara Ali Khan will host her first-ever curated yoga and wellness retreat in Goa, offering a serene escape amidst lush landscapes. This exclusive experience is part of Airbnb’s ongoing efforts to merge travel with unique, memorable experiences.
In a conversation with Storyboard18, Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb’s General Manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, shares insights on the company’s growth strategy, market trends, and how celebrity collaborations bolster its position in India.
Edited excerpts
How does Airbnb approach the Indian market in terms of strategy, partnerships, investments, and revenue growth?
Global expansion is something which is a top priority for Airbnb right now as a company globally. In fact, in the last quarter, some of our strategies around global expansion are working well because the growth rate that we’re seeing in these global markets is double of the growth rate in some of our old core markets, for example, the US, UK, etc.
When we look at global expansion, India is one of the fastest-growing emerging markets for Airbnb because youth is at the heart in terms of the demographic in India. With a young demographic led by millennials and Gen Z, India shows a strong appetite for experiential travel.
In the past year, domestic nights booked by Indian guests have grown by over 30%. This growth creates a positive flywheel effect: more guests attract more hosts, who bring unique inventory to the platform, from casual stays to small businesses offering vacation rentals. Our partnerships and collaborations, such as today’s announcement with Sara Ali Khan, also increase brand visibility and create unforgettable experiences for users.
Nine out of ten first-time Airbnb users in India are millennials or Gen Z, highlighting their inclination toward unique, culturally relevant experiences. We have something which is only unique and only available on Airbnb is something that we will continue to work on. We are also highly social. We are on social media and social lends very well to travel inspiration. So I think overall, if I were to say in one word, what would we be doing from an Airbnb growth perspective is to increase our awareness.
How do leisure stays stack up against corporate or business stays? Which is the bigger growing segment? Are there other categories emerging?
The beauty about Airbnb is the fact that we are one of the most diverse platforms in terms of type of inventory available or type of homes available. There is an Airbnb at every price point and there is an Airbnb for all kinds of trips. We have rooms as a category on the platform that facilitates that. So passion points are creating a lot of pull for some of these stays. We also have all of the stays for bigger families or bigger groups. So we have many big independent homes, villas, apartments across 100 plus cities in India. And definitely we see a blend of leisure plus all kinds of trip types. We see Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi as destinations that are also getting a lot of popularity for these reasons. But it’s a good blend, I would say, leisure as well as business and ‘bleisure’ as a new term that has come up where people are combining a business trip with leisure, definitely increasing.
In terms of bookings and traveller engagement, where does India stand in Airbnb’s global rankings? What does the India market report card say for 2024?
One of the fastest growing emerging markets, and we have a long term horizon for Airbnb in India, what we will continue to do is increase awareness because we believe as one of the youngest countries in the world, a lot of youngsters are not predisposed to traditional ways of staying, whether it’s a hotel or a resort, etc, and a lot of them value experiential travel. So they’re coming on Airbnb, their friends are on Airbnb, you are on Airbnb.
A lot of people want to experience unique stays, unique experiences, and Airbnb has all of them. Whether it’s domestic travel or Indians booking stays abroad, the momentum is strong, with bookings growing over 30% year-over-year.
What are the key consumer trends seen in India that differentiate it from other markets globally?
Experiential travel is at the heart of what we see in India. So a lot of people are making responsible, conscious choices in terms of where to stay, what impact their travel choices are making on the communities that they visit. They’re becoming far more responsible in the choices that they’re making. So they want to go stay in a local neighbourhood. They want to know if the villa owner employ the local people, will they get access to some of the local practices, will they be able to immerse in culture and not just go visit a city, but live like a local. And all of these trends are something that we see on Airbnb where people are looking for authentic immersive stays. That continues to be a differentiator.
Also what we are seeing is the rise of spiritual travel. So we talked about destinations like Varanasi, Vrindavan, Tiruputi, etc. They are gaining popularity. Again, people want to visit these places with families, larger groups. So they are now booking entire Airbnbs, which gives them private access, but also all of them stay together when they’re visiting these places. So I believe spiritual travel is driving domestic tourism, leisure travel is driving domestic tourism, but at the heart of it is Millennials and Gen Z wanting more experiences in life.
Given the rise of wellness tourism, how is Airbnb catering to this growing demand while ensuring guest satisfaction and safety?
Wellness is one of the key passion points for which we are seeing in terms of growing popularity. As an open platform, we’ve always had wellness-themed stays, whether it’s in markets like Goa, Kerala, Rishikesh, up north in the hills, a lot of eco-stays as well where people go and relax and experience slow living.
So Airbnb as a platform caters to many needs. We talk about wellness not just in terms of one specific domain. A lot of people are not talking about holistic wellness.
We do believe that the diversity of our host community lends very well to people wanting to share their experiences a new set of people. I think that is a very unique aspect on Airbnb. We will have more experiences related to wellness, and we continue to provide people the platform where they can share their passion points, whether as a stay or as an experience.
What led to the decision to collaborate with Bollywood stars like Sara Ali Khan, and how does it align with Airbnb’s goals?
We’ve always partnered with people or brands behind iconic places, iconic states. Many years ago, we partnered with Gauri Khan and Shah Rukh Khan when they opened up their Delhi home to people, which was something that people had never seen. We’ve opened many other such iconic stays, like, the Barbie Dream house in Malibu, which was a global sensation. Very recently with Jahnvi Kapoor, where she became a host and welcomed people into our coastal abode. So, we will continue to work with celebrities because A, if you look at travel inspiration, specifically in India, a lot of youngsters, a lot of Gen Z, millennials, look up to these celebrities and get inspiration in terms of how they travel, what do they do when they travel, what choices do they make, and they want to do that.
Indians love to visit newer places, specifically where they see celebrities and stars. I do believe that as a company, to increase brand consideration, we will tap into the cultural or pop moments that are there in a country. And within India, Bollywood is a big theme, right? So more Indians are likely to get inspired when they see their favourite celebrities and influencers or content creators or friends, or even at a very micro level, when they share something, they also like to do that.
I think travel blends very well to social storytelling as well. And when you have beautiful places like we have on Airbnb, they become an exciting backdrop for people to share content. So we will continue to tap into this cultural zeitgeist.
Can you share some insights into Airbnb’s recent performance and how this kind of collaboration contributes to the company’s growth in India?
We have a very long term horizon on India in terms of as the fastest growing emerging market. What I would say is the night’s booked on the platform for domestic has grown by over 30% year over year. And that tells you that a lot of people like our product, like our offering, and it gives us more confidence to bring more bookings to our host community. We see similar kinds of growth across all segments, whether it’s Indians visiting other nations. Bali, Langkawi are some of the top destinations that are trending for this winter, or people are even going to cities like Tokyo and Rome as well as Finland.
I do believe that as a global network, we are very uniquely positioned, with presence across 110,000 cities across the world, with beautiful Airbnbs at all price points. So I do believe that a lot of people come to Airbnb for these unique stays, and we’ll continue to increase awareness about Airbnb in India and make it easier for people to open up their homes on the platform as well.
What’s next for Airbnb in India? Are there any new features or initiatives to be introduced Will there be similar collaborations with other celebs in the future; what to expect from Airbnb in terms of such initiatives?
I think what you can expect from an Airbnb is innovation, is tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, making sure that we are present where our audience wants us to be present. This retreat is a tap into a passion point around wellness. We will continue to tap into other passion points for travel, whether it’s food, whether it’s entertainment, whether it is sustainable, responsible, conscious tourism.
We will continue to partner with state governments. We have been partnering with governments like Goa, Tourism Department of Goa, to promote the hinterland of Goa, which is beyond the beaches. With this initiative as well, we are positioning Goa as a wellness destination. We’ve had MOUs in the past with state of Maharashtra, with Uttarakhand, with Madhya Pradesh. These will continue to be something that we invest heavily in, creating microentrepreneurs at the grassroots level and making sure that we are putting India on the global road.