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Airbnb found that some of its most popular experience bookings involved animals; on Thursday, the company is introducing "Airbnb Animal Experiences," an expanded and stand-alone category with an ethical focus

New Airbnb excursions to focus on animals

A photo provided by Airbnb shows miniponies in Britain. The company is introducing &quot;Airbnb Animal Experiences,&quot; an expanded and stand-alone category, much like its existing &quot;Food and Drink&quot; and &quot;Sports and Outdoors&quot; categories. Image: Airbnb via The New York TimesAirbnb Experiences, the activities arm of the home-sharing platform,  offers travelers many things to do in Lima, Peru. They can learn to  cycle around the capital on a bamboo bike ($32) make ceviche in the  home of a local ($62) and spend 90 minutes with Otto, the skateboarding  bulldog who set a world record for the longest human tunnel traveled  through by a skateboarding dog (picture a line of participants standing  with their legs wide, creating a passageway for the rolling canine).In the three years since Airbnb introduced its experience bookings,  it found some of its most popular involved animals. On Thursday the  company is introducing “Airbnb Animal Experiences,” an expanded and  stand-alone category, much like its existing “Food and Drink” and  “Sports and Outdoors” categories. The new animal division will have an  ethical focus.“We realized people want to reconnect with animals,” said Mikel  Freemon, head of animals at Airbnb Experiences. “We wanted to fulfill  that urge in a responsible way.”The announcement comes at a time of increased scrutiny of  organizations offering animal and wildlife experiences in tourist  destinations Wednesday, TripAdvisor announced it would end its practice  of selling tickets to events or attractions that breed or buy dolphins,  whales and other marine mammals. Indeed, there is growing concern  worldwide over the level of regulation of zoos, wildlife parks and other  animal refuges, particularly in developing nations, which may  potentially attract travelers to situations in which the animals are  abused for their entertainment, or worse.In expanding the division — roughly half of its more than 1,000  Animal Experiences, available in 58 countries, will be new at launch —  the company worked with World Animal Protection, a nonprofit  organization devoted to animal welfare, to create a policy for the  ethical treatment of animals. Animal owners, known as “hosts,” must  comply with the policy to be included on the platform.Airbnb’s policy bans direct contact with wild animals such as  petting, feeding or riding them, with some exceptions for nonprofits  conducting conservation research. Domesticated and farmed animals such  as horses and camels may carry no more than one rider and no more than  20% of their body weight. The rules prohibit elephant interactions,  including riding, bathing or feeding, as well as any experiences  involving captive marine mammals.“Instead of swimming with dolphins in captivity, you can go with a researcher and study wild dolphins,” Freemon said.World Animal Protection will not benefit financially from the Animal  Experiences bookings but expressed appreciation for a partner as large  and visible as Airbnb, where the experiences it offers across its  categories have grown from 500 in 2016, when the division was  introduced, to about 40,000 now.“To have a travel leader such as Airbnb commit to making animal  welfare a top priority will not only help educate travelers on the  importance of cruelty-free animal tourism but also illustrate to them  the opportunities to experience wildlife in their natural habitats while  traveling,” wrote Alesia Soltanpanah, executive director of World  Animal Protection, in an email.Airbnb isn’t the only company to find its animal activities surging  in popularity. Five years ago, Intrepid Travel banned elephant rides on  its trips globally, including Southeast Asia where they were popular,  based on research by World Animal Protection about the abuse of  elephants used in tourism. The company reported a record 12% growth in  its wildlife tours among American travelers in the past year. Their  popularity has inspired the company to add 10 new wildlife-focused tours  in 2020, including trips to an orangutan rehabilitation center in  Borneo and a non-riding elephant sanctuary in Laos.Offering opportunities to work with rescued monkeys and parrots in  Guatemala or rehabilitate kangaroos in Australia, Animal Experience  International, based in Ontario, said its trips have caught on with  gap-year travelers and families. The company visits the animal  organizations it works with in order to vet them for ethical practices.  In November, it will launch a new 10-day Expedition Nepal group trip to  volunteer with dog rescue groups during Kuku Tihar, the day Nepali  Hindus bless dogs (2,495 Canadian dollars, or about $1,880).“Knowing that we have actually gone to these places really helps our  clients feel confident that they will be helping animals,” said Nora  Livingstone, chief executive of Animal Experience International.Ethics in animal tourism isn’t, of course, restricted to paid tours.  In Scotland last summer, the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, a marine  conservation charity, launched the Hebridean Whale Trail, which  identifies locations on land where travelers may spot marine mammals  from the shore as an alternative to potentially interfering with them on  the water.The expanded Airbnb Animal Experiences range from 90 minutes with  Otto, the skateboarding dog, to multiday safaris with conservationists.  There are expeditions in Brooklyn, New York, to see wild parrots, walks  in Britain with mini ponies and tea parties with “naughty” sheep in  Scotland known to steal crumpets and nibble on sweaters.Animal Experiences start at $10 and run $500 or more for more extensive safaris. The average price is around $50.Many of its new animal experiences involve animal experts such as  veterinarians, farmers, naturalists and researchers. In Chernobyl,  travelers can participate in a program to meet the feral descendants of  the dogs left behind in the 1980s when Ukrainian residents fled  following the nuclear reactor explosion. Travelers can help socialize  and clean the dogs, said to be safe from contamination, with a group  that is working to promote their adoption.“We want travelers to meet the animals through the eyes of the people  who live and work with them,” Freemon said. “They are translators for  these animals so you can get to see and know them through their eyes.”

New Airbnb excursions to focus on animals

Airbnb found that some of its most popular experience bookings involved animals; on Thursday, the company is introducing "Airbnb Animal Experiences," an expanded and stand-alone category with an ethic

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New Airbnb excursions to focus on animals

Airbnb found that some of its most popular experience bookings involved animals; on Thursday, the company is introducing "Airbnb Animal Experiences," an expanded and stand-alone category with an ethic... Read More

Latest News

On Everyone’s Radar

Airbnb found that some of its most popular experience bookings involved animals; on Thursday, the company is introducing "Airbnb Animal Experiences," an expanded and stand-alone category with an ethic