THE AIRBNB TOURS HELPING US LIVE LIKE A LOCAL

AIRBNB has already triggered one revolution in the travel industry and now it is shaking up another: holiday ‘experiences’.

The website, which allows people to rent out their property, or even a spare room, by the night, is now rolling out ‘experiences’ across the UK after they proved such a success in London, Edinburgh and other parts of the world.

After booking your accommodation on Airbnb, you can then use the site to book a place and join the various activities that people are providing in that area.

The experiences are usually guided tours near or around the place booked, but they can also include help in learning new crafts or languages.

The top three experiences in London, for example, are a Royal London walking tour, a ‘crawl’ around the East End’s craft beer scene and the London Alternative History tour.

New activities added with the roll-out of experiences across the UK include wheelchair tennis in Sutton, an exclusive lunch club in the unlikely surroundings of Brixton Prison, and an opportunity to learn the tricks of taxidermy.

And it seems that setting yourself up as a mini Thomas Cook can pay dividends.

According to Joseph Zadeh, Airbnb’s Vice President of Trips, one organiser of cycle tours in Paris is earning £150,000 a year via the site. Mr Zadeh says people can share their interests and passions as activities available to book on the site.

He adds: ‘People want to experience a place like the locals do, and the expansion of Experiences across the UK reflects this.

‘Travellers can unearth hidden gems curated by locals and see the true character of the country through the people who live there.’