Really excited about our first major release since launching the app in mid-January. We've gathered a ton of feedback from the awesome community of hosts and guests and today I would like to introduce what we've been hard at work building ...
In Spontaneity We Trust:
Overnight stays are bringing spontaneous people together all over and today we're launching New York City along with V2 of our product. The stays on Overnight are primarily with locals — like you're booking an extra bedroom in their home ... This means we're bringing people together and providing an extremely unique local experience. It's not a vacation-rental experience — it's truly home-sharing. (I'm writing this from my host's dining room table in New York City).
We've seen extra bedrooms, entire places, sofas, beds in boats, hexi-yurts, and other awesome places but the most important thing isn't the four walls that shelter people for last-minute stays — it's the local experience the host provides, and what's on the other side of those four walls.
Some of the things we've changed in the iOS are:
• Multiple night bookings - It's still same day, but for multiple days at a time now.
• Browse listings and book in minutes - We're actively sorting the best listings for you. Right where you are, for right now. Hosts respond quickly.
• Trust and safety - we're bringing awesome information to the top of the user experience like verifications, mutual friends and more.
• Toggle your privacy as a host. Host without showing your profile
We've officially launched Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin TX and now New York City. Live somewhere else and want to host? Add your listing and we'll be there as soon as possible — thousands of hosts have added beautiful listings in more than 45 countries.
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@asher_hunt This looks AWESOME! Exactly what I need when traveling the country.
@loudijk I can't wait for us to get out there — we definitely already have listings in both cities although we haven't officially launched there. I want to make sure we're able to provide an experience that is really great — and we don't have the density there just yet, but we will definitely get there.
@alicelthwaite you should absolutely download the app and list your place — we do have a handful of hosts in London although we haven't officially launched.
Interesting concept and design looks solid. Were y'all inspired by HotelTonight's app and branding? They tend to speak to spontaneity and last-minute as well. Design looks nice but I'd love to see a not 3D slanted version if its available, it makes it harder to see whats actually going on. Cheers.
@shawnborsky Well you could always download the app too 😉 — it's not slanted on there.
I'm going to go on a bit of a rant, but follow me here. I think it's helpful to share some in-depth thinking behind my motivations here.
Inspiration
Great question — so the inspiration actually came from my own unplanned style of travel ... I focus on work first and foremost and fit the most awesome things I can fit into my schedule very opportunistically ... It requires being spontaneous and having multiple platforms to help support that.
That said — I lived out of a backpack for the better part of four years, and I ran into many many problems with hotels and even Airbnb. Over that time I averaged around 90 nights a year in various paid accommodations. I definitely felt a huge pain in booking last-minute travel and that is because all booking apps are designed as a catch-alls.
The catch-all
The majority of travel booking platforms satisfy the catch-all 80/20 design of what the market was at a different place in time (pre-mobile) ... well the market of last-minute travel is growing like crazy and it needs design to keep up with it ... I really believe that with the right design (in this particular circumstance) there can be a step function change in spontaneous trips and I want to be in the running to help facilitate that change.
I want to create something simple. For guests - and for hosts.
Hosting
As I was living out of a bag I wasn't homeless — in fact my place was sitting empty those 90 nights a year and someone else could have stayed there. I would have hosted every single night if I knew I could do so on my own schedule and with out the complexity of having to manage a calendar like I was a semi-professional hotelier.
Remember – I travel spontaneously because I put work first and i try to fit awesome things in between —that means the last thing I would want is another layer of complexity like having to sit down and manage my calendar every week to understand when I can and cant go home.
Removing time and a calendar from the mix effectively removed an entire dimension of cognitive overhead/complexity from the equation.
Compare these frame works:Scenario A
• You have perfect context of what you are doing right now and likely the rest of this evening.
• You get a push asking you if you want to make money (for example) $100 hosting someone this evening.
• You decide now if you want to make money tonight.
Scenario B
• You have perfect context of what you're doing right now and likely the rest of this evening
• You get a push asking you if you want to make money (for example) $200 hosting someone for two night, 3 weeks from now.
• You must assess future possibilities variables and potential restriction of your own free time in the distant future.
Wildly different I think.
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