A new crop of listings from Airbnb might have you making some tweaks to your bucket list.
The booking platform unveiled its “Icons” category on Wednesday, a collection of one-of-a-kind stays and experiences.
Guests can book listings like a stay in a replica of Carl Fredricksen’s house from Disney and Pixar’s “Up” in Abiquiu, New Mexico – that can be suspended up to 50 feet in the air by a crane while guests are outside, with over 8,000 balloons attached for good measure – or a living room concert by rapper Doja Cat.
The category expands on similar listings Airbnb has offered in the past, such as Barbie’s Malibu DreamHouse.
“One of the core ideas of Airbnb is that you can step inside someone else’s world,” CEO Brian Chesky told USA TODAY. He said the company began wondering if it could apply that to fantastical worlds customers might only dream about.
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“I think when you take something that was only in your imagination, and you make that real, it creates a sense of magic,” he added.
What can guests expect from Airbnb Icons?
Airbnb is launching Icons with 11 options and will add more on a rolling basis.
Those include an overnight stay at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy. “You’ll sleep on a bed crafted from the same leather as Ferrari seats, take a lap with Scuderia Ferrari ambassador driver Marc Gené, and head to Emilia-Romagna’s premier race as a VIP,” the company said in a news release.
One listing offers views of the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony from the Musée d’Orsay, with its clock room turned into a bedroom by Mathieu Lehanneur (who designed the torch and cauldron for this summer’s games). Another opens Prince’s Minneapolis house from the 1984 rock musical movie “Purple Rain” to guests. The stay features a studio session with “rare and special tracks” as well.
How do you book Airbnb Icons?
The Icons category is featured on the homepage of Airbnb’s website and app, with a countdown clock showing when a listing will become available. Users can then request to book.
“People are just going to be asked to fill out their profile on Airbnb, answer some questions about why they want to stay, and then … we’ll kind of randomly narrow it into a set of submissions, and then we’re going to read every one of those submissions and pick people. And I think this is just a way to create a little of that Willy Wonka-type joy and surprise.”
Fittingly, guests who are chosen will get a digital golden ticket. The company plans to distribute more than 4,000 of those this year.
How much do Airbnb Icons cost?
The majority of listings in the category are free, but all cost less than $100 per guest. Those who book will be responsible for any travel costs, however.
Chesky said he sees Icons as “the beginning of the next chapter of Airbnb.”
“I feel like if we can make a 40,000 (pound) house lift through the sky, we can do anything,” he said.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him atndiller@usatoday.com.
