Airbnb is looking to find or build the world’s craziest holiday homes – and will help to foot the bill for them too.
Recently, the rental company introduced the OMG filter on its website that lets you search for bizarre stays – from a UFO home to a room inside a boot.
And, now, Airbnb has created a $10,000,000 (£8,000,000) pot – the OMG! Fund.
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It’s searching for ideas from existing and aspiring designers, architects, DIYers and makers from around the globe.
And, the IMG Fund will help to finance 100 of the craziest ideas that are presented to them meaning 100 people can turn their Airbnb plan into a reality as one of the most unique stays on the site.
Starting today, anyone with an out-of-this-world idea can submit an application at airbnb.com.
The 100 craziest ideas will receive USD $100,000 (£81,381) each to make their creation possible and, ultimately, bookable.
Ideas will be judged by an expert panel for their originality, feasibility, the experience the space will provide guests, and sustainability.
More than 30,000 unique listings from around the world were added to Airbnb in 2021 and the OMG! Category – and the section has been viewed a whopping 2.5million times since May.
The sub-section was created as part of Airbnb Categories which was launched last month and allows holidaymakers to search for exactly the type of stay they want whether it’s a Lakefront cabin, island trip, a cave home or even a traditional ryokan.
In 2021, the typical host in the UK earned just over £6,000.
Those who own a unique listing in the UK earned over £6,900 in 2021 which is around 167% more than unique host earnings in 2019.
Additionally, nights booked at unique properties increased globally by over 49% from 2019 to 2021, reports Airbnb.
Airbnb Superhost OMG! Fund judging panelist Kristie Wolfe said: “When the Idaho Potato Commission retired a six-ton prop potato, I took it off their hands and spent $32,000 transforming it into an Airbnb.
“I went from making $13/hr to seeing $208,000 in earnings in less than three years, and leveraged that income to bootstrap my way through additional listings that allow me to express my creativity and connect with hundreds of people in the process.”
Applications will be reviewed by a judging panel of boundary-pushing design authorities, an architectural expert and an Airbnb OMG! Category Superhost.
These include: Iris Apfel, centenarian style icon, Koichi Takada of Koichi Takada Architects, Kristie Wolfe, Airbnb Superhost and prolific creator of the Potato Hotel, Crystal Peak Lookout, Big Island Treehouse and the forthcoming Shipwreck House and Bruce Vaughn, Disney alum and Airbnb’s VP of Experiential Creative Product.
Applications are open now and will be accepted until July 23 at 4:59am BST.
The 100 fund recipients will be selected by the panel over the next several months, with the intent of having their newly-constructed spaces complete next year.
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