Airbnb recently announced that it has introduced changes and updates to keep up with the new ways people are living and traveling post-pandemic.

According to a press release, there are 150 upgrades to the company's service. CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb Brian Chesky called the update the "biggest change to Airbnb in a decade."

“The way people travel has changed forever. That’s why we’re introducing the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade,” said Chesky. “First, people are more flexible about where they live and work, so we’ve designed a new way to search with Airbnb Categories. Second, people are taking longer trips, so we created Split Stays to give you more options by splitting your trip between two homes. And third, we’re introducing AirCover for guests, giving you the confidence to book knowing that Airbnb’s got your back.” 

Airbnb Categories will allow travelers to search for vacation homes by features, rather than just by location. Airbnb's more than 4 million homes are now grouped into 56 categories including barns, cabins, campers, chef's kitchens, creative spaces, grand pianos, historical homes, off-the-grid, treehouses and vineyards. This new feature is designed to help travelers find unique places to choose and stay at a destination they might not have otherwise selected.

Split Stays is a new feature that will give travelers more options when booking longer stays by allowing them to split their trip between two homes. Travelers who are browsing in the National Parks category, for example, could see a pair of homes near two different parks as a suggestion. Users can then view the Split Stay and will see a visual line connecting the two homes so they can see how far apart they are. Approximately half of the trips booked on Airbnb over the last three months were a week or more in length.

Airbnb Cover is a comprehensive travel protection plan for guests, offering four protections to travelers. The first is a booking guarantee: if a host cancels within 30 days of a trip, Airbnb will either refund the traveler or find a different home of equal or better value. The second is a check-in guarantee: if guests are unable to check into a home, Airbnb will refund them or find them a replacement stay. The third is a get-what-you-booked guarantee: if guests discover that a home does not offer everything it advertised, Airbnb will refund them or find a replacement home. The fourth protection is a 24-hour safety line, which guests will have access to at any time of day if they feel unsafe.