Travelers love Airbnb. After all, it’s like having a home at every spot in the world, no matter what budget or what terrain! And this time, Airbnb is taking this homely experience to another level. So next time you travel, you’ll not only enjoy your vacation but also get to spend quality time with the animals. Yes! This new experience is a perfect way for travelers to engage with the local animal kingdom in whichever part of the world they are.
Airbnb’s new venture, allows you to be guests to animal experiences. How about getting hosted by penguins of Africa while traveling to Cape town? Sounds exciting, right? We cannot wait to book an Animal Experience with Airbnb the next time we are traveling out!
What’s It?
Airbnb now has an animal-friendly category as part of its experiences. The new initiative offers experiences like caring, enagaing and hosting animals, as a way to help people understand them and bond with them. Animal-lovers can choose from over 1000 animal experiences hosted by over 300 animal species and their advocates. So what can you expect? Guests can choose to kayak with conservationists, have a tea party with a local farmer in European farms and his sheep, or bond with horses in Ibiza! Visitors can also opt for more interactive experiences, like feeding the animals, experience beekeeping for a day, or go hiking with rescued dogs.
Ethical Issues
We know animal experiences can be tricky when it comes to ethical concerns. So how do we know it is safe? Well, Airbnb has designed its animal welfare policy in collaboration with World Animal Protection. Here are a few highlights of their policy:
– Wild animals: No direct contact allowed, including but not limited to, petting, feeding, or riding animals
– Working animals: Only one rider allowed and never more than 20% of the animal’s weight.
– Marine mammals: shouldn’t be put in 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 to be allowed as selfie props or any negative training techniques
Now that we know its a safe experience, we can’t wait to hit the plane!
Actually, you don’t necessarily have to travel out of the city. Animal Airbnb has experiences in the UAE too! Ever knew you can go kayaking with Dolphins in Abu Dhabi. Check out the deets here.