The Tribune

ONLINE vacation home marketplace Airbnb is encouraging locals to tap into the tourism market through the launch of Airbnb Experiences in The Bahamas.

Yesterday the company said the new initiative "provides a unique opportunity for local culture curators to share their knowledge of the islands and what it means to be uniquely Bahamian with guests from around the world."

"Experiences align with Airbnb's mission of creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere. They also ensure that as tourism becomes a larger portion of economies around the world, local people and the communities they live in are the primary beneficiaries," the company said in a release yesterday.

"Through the Experiences platform, locals offering a one-of-a-kind experience can start hosting with no upfront costs. Airbnb provides each Experiences host with their own page that travellers can use to book their activity. Airbnb handles payment processing, provides 24-hour customer service, and Experience Protection Insurance - up to $1m in insurance coverage for most activities. In exchange, Airbnb charges a 20 percent service fee on Experiences sales.

According to Airbnb, in 2018, the number of seats booked on Airbnb Experiences increased nearly sevenfold, year over year. In 2016, Experiences launched with roughly 500 experiences. Today, over 40,000 Experiences are available around the world.

"The growth of Experiences offers new ways for small entrepreneurs to market their time, experiences and talents. In the past, it was difficult for individuals to market and sell independent experiences to travellers. Airbnb has given entrepreneurs access to their global network, and while the average person earned $2,500 per Experience listed in 2018, some of Airbnb's top hosts are earning more than $300,000 in a year from hosting Experiences," said Airbnb.

It added; "In recent months, Airbnb has been promoting Experiences to locals on the island, with an aim to increase the supply of Experiences on the platform. In June, the platform hosted an Entrepreneurship Lab, an Office of Healthy Tourism initiative held in conjunction with the Tourism Development Corporation that attracted dozens of potential Experiences hosts. Then on August 9, Airbnb provided additional one-on-one support for entrepreneurs interested in becoming Experiences hosts by providing office hours at the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association. From the response generated at these two events, it is evident that local hosts are eager to share their knowledge and expertise of the islands through diverse, people-powered experiences that are local, authentic, sustainable, and drive economic growth in the community.

Some of the entrepreneurs who launched Experiences after attending the Entrepreneurship lab include Chiccharney Farm to Table Experience which offers homemade farm to table products including ice cream, juices, jams, and locally brewed "bush" teas; and Educulture, by Arlene and Silbert Ferguson which provides an interactive experience for guests to discover and explore the spirit of Junkanoo throughout the year.