Ever thought of paddleboarding with a Corgi, hanging out at a cafe with rescue dogs or horseriding through a waterfall? Airbnb is bringing you safe and respectful ways to engage with animals with their new venture, Airbnb Animal Experiences!
Airbnb Animal Experiences – a brand new category of Airbnb Experiences allows people to better understand animals through caring, expert hosts and set a new standard for animal tourism. With 1,000 Experiences co-hosted by over 300 species and their human advocates, guests can now kayak with conservationists, learn alongside urban beekeepers or skateboard with a world record-winning bulldog!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbah6DT4SMk&w=560&h=315]Airbnb Animal Experiences offers a fresh new way to connect with animals near and far so that even busy urbanites can reconnect with the natural world through hiking with rescue dogs, chilling out with alpacas or cuddling cows. Guests will meet animals in places that allow for gentle observation and bring a sense of connection far beyond animal selfies or performances. For those seeking more adventure, guests can discover arctic foxes or even help rescue puppies lost within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
“At Airbnb, we envision a world where everyone can belong anywhere. Today, we extend our passion for belonging beyond humankind, committing to protect the welfare of animals across any Experience that features them. Joining more than 40,000 Airbnb Experiences available across 1,000 cities worldwide, Airbnb Animal Experiences are underpinned by a new, industry-leading animal welfare policy, created in collaboration with World Animal Protection. Animals should be appreciated for their intrinsic value and this new animal welfare policy has been designed to ensure their wellbeing at all times. Ranging from afternoon tea with naughty sheep to multi-day safaris, Airbnb Animal Experiences are hosted by caring experts as an antidote to typical tourist attractions that are notorious for ethical concerns. You will never find an Airbnb Experience where you can kiss a dolphin or ride an elephant.”
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I, for one, cannot wait to embark on some of these animal adventures! While most of us think to use Airbnb and Experiences while out of town, there just might be some cool excursions right in your back yard. Today you can officially head over to their site and browse by region, see what stands out to you and book!
Airbnb is also making it their duty to stand with the animals to make sure the experiences make them comfortable. Below you can read up on their new policies if the welfare of the animals are a concern of yours.
Airbnb Animal Policy Highlights
Airbnb is the first major booking platform to offer a dedicated category of animal experiences underpinned by a progressive new animal welfare policy, created in conjunction with World Animal Protection. New highlights include:
- Wild animals: there should be no direct contact including, but not limited to, petting, feeding, or riding animals
- Working animals: maximum one rider and never more than 20% of the animal’s weight, never to be overworked
- Marine mammals: should never bein captivity for entertainment
- Broader host business: should not feature elephant rides, big cat interactions, illegal wildlife trade, sporting events such as canned and trophy hunting, animals performing for entertainment
- Responsible travel: no wild animals as selfie props or any negative training techniques
