Airbnb invites guests to 'Experience' more, Seventeen event leads way

Home > Business > Industry

Airbnb invites guests to 'Experience' more, Seventeen event leads way

Published: 04 Jun. 2025, 18:52 Updated: 04 Jun. 2025, 19:33

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, seventh from left, poses with boy band Seventeen ahead of the Seventeen’s 10th Anniversary experience in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [NEWS1]

Airbnb wants to be more than just an accommodation booking service: they want people to order room service, have spa treatments and hire personal photographers. They even want K-pop bands to use Airbnb to meet their fans.

Boy band Seventeen and 60 of its lucky fans were the first to experience it firsthand on Wednesday through Seventeen’s 10th Anniversary experience.

“What we are doing with Experiences is it allows fans to get much, much closer to their artist and to the performers that they follow,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said during a media event on Wednesday, ahead of the Seventeen Airbnb Experience which will be held same day in Yongsan District, central Seoul. Chesky said one of his bucket list items for his trip to Korea was to meet Seventeen, as the band has been in multiple partnerships with the company.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky during Wednesday's media session in Yongsan District, central Seoul [CHO YONG-JUN]

Airbnb announced a set of changes during its Airbnb 2025 Summer Release, which introduced Airbnb Services, an on-demand service within the Airbnb app that lets users hire chefs, photographers, makeup artists and massage professionals to their Airbnb. The company also revamped Airbnb Experiences, which usually offered services walking tours and tour guides, to have Airbnb-approved premium experiences, under the name Airbnb Original.

Seventeen’s 10th Anniversary experience is Airbnb’s most special event, dubbed a once-in-a-lifetime event. Other events include experiences hosted by singer Megan Thee Stallion and Sabrina Carpenter in the United States.

While Seventeen won’t be offering any overnight stays or breakfast at the event, 60 lucky fans will be given the opportunity to customize their own Seventeen baseball jacket, see Seventeen’s costumes, record songs for the members of the boy band to listen to and join for an exclusive fan meet-and-greet-like event where Seventeen will share stories and take group photos with the fans.

A recording booth at the Seventeen’s 10th Anniversary experience in Yongsan District, central Seoul [CHO YONG-JUN]

The venue — perhaps to maintain exclusivity — will not be opened to the public and will be demolished after the event.

Chesky shared that he had been in an Airbnb Experience in France, where the architect who was involved in the restoration of the Notre-Dame was hosting a tour, and a how to make ramen experience in Japan, hosted by a Michelin star chef.

“Travel is really about memories and your memories are formed through the experiences that you have,” he said.

During his two-night visit to Korea, Chesky stayed at an Airbnb hanok — or traditional Korean housing. Airbnb hosts in Korea are required to have a registration from the government to operate in the country.

“It was one of the coolest Airbnbs I’ve ever stayed at and I’ve stayed in like hundreds of them,” he said. “It felt really traditional and yet really comfortable and pretty luxurious.”