Bangkok--6 Mar--TQPR
As a pioneer of the sharing economy, Airbnb has long been powered by a worldwide community of female hosts.
Research has shown that the number of women deciding to host on Airbnb is increasing. The expansion of Airbnb Experiences in the past year has enabled more women to become entrepreneurs by sharing their skills, neighborhoods, and cultures with guests from around the world. Women make up 50% of all Experience hosts on our platform. Additionally, many women host Social Impact Experiences benefit nonprofit organizations that empower women. For example, Gayatri, who hosts Rebuilding Bali's coral reefs, is a marine conservation pioneer. Her aim is to protect Bali's coral reefs by teaching people about sustainable fish breeding, and in particular rearing and caring for tropical fish such as the clownfish. Being an experience host supports this important work by generating income and spreading understanding of conservation.
We see six key reasons for this:
1) A desire to offer hospitality to people and give them a deeper understanding of the place they are visiting
2) To share a personal passion with others
3) To build a second career in a specific area
4) To support their entrepreneurial pursuits
5) To help support local businesses and preserve traditions
6) A sense of social entrepreneurship.
To celebrate International Women's Day, we are proud to introduce some of these hosts from around the region. While we know that Airbnb cannot single-handedly break down the barriers that many women face both in the workplace and in everyday life, we are proud to support women's economic empowerment through our platform, and we celebrate our community of women hosts around the world. Both today and every day. Support women today by booking their Experience!
Hospitality-driven entrepreneurship
Thailand: Pad Thai Delight
Tatiya is a geophysicist working for a Thai national oil company. From her love of travel and jumping on any chance to meet new people from around the world and learning new cultures, she has since quit her job to become a full time Airbnb host, and now teaches a Pad Thai cooking class, teaching travellers how to cook a traditional home cooked meal and share more about the Thai way of living.
India: Indian Shopping Sojourn
Parul used to be a flight attendant for Swiss Air, and now takes great pleasure in welcoming people to her home in New Delhi and showing them how to shop. There is an art to shopping in New Delhi that many people would struggle with on their own. Parul's mission is to take people to the best places while avoiding tourist traps, and helping them get the best bargains.
Singapore: Henna Art in Little India
Ashvari is a 23 years old and an entrepreneur helping her mother's store out, whilst schooling. Her love for henna art has inspired her to share this with travellers from around the world
Preserving a great tradition
Thailand: Traditional Thai Dance
Thanwarat is an entrepreneur wanting to showcase a authentic side to Thailand. She will take you to her 120 years old heritage building where you will learn more about the Traditional Thai costume and find out how the dance is an integral part of their culture
Australia: Enjoy Classic Aussie Milk Bar Treats
Jessica operates a milk bar with her husband in Sydney. Although milk bars have long been part of Australian local culture, their numbers are in decline meaning they could become a thing of the past. Jessica wants to keep this vibrant tradition alive by sharing her enthusiasm for it with others.
Singapore: Where Gods are Born
Aunty Chwee Lian is an 86 year old grandma keeping an old tradition alive - she runs Singapore's last Taoist deity shop which is where she worked for 70 years and raised 7 children. Hear from her as she conducts a demonstration of the art of effigy-making for you.
Local neighbourhood champion
Japan: Tokyo Neighborhood Cycle
A former online marketer, Kaoru is the founder of a travel company that aims to connect visitors to the less-explored parts of Eastern Tokyo, a part of the city with rich history. She has travelled widely herself and now enjoys opening the neighbourhood of Kiyosumi Shirakawa to visitors on a cycling tour that takes in the numerous artisanal traditions of the area.
Second career
Korea: Homestyle Seoul Cooking 101
Yang Chul is an actress who became a chef after studying at the Hattori Nutrition College in Tokyo. She cooks simply but with great flair and finds satisfaction not just in serving food but teaching people to cook it. At her studio, guests learn to adapt classic Korean cooking to a home-cooked meal. In sharing her professional skills, she is a great ambassador for Korea.
Singapore: One Kind House
Arlette and Mummy Soh runs the One Kind House where it aims to encourage their own children and their guests to achieve their dreams. Here, learn to grow your own crops using the latest urban farming technologies; forage for baby kedondong leaves to pound into a pesto; and pluck blue pea flowers to make a uniquely different tea and rice. Then we'll cook a three-course meal using family recipes, and enjoy it together while sharing stories.
Female entrepreneur with a mission
China: Architecture and history of Shanghai
Anne used to work for a travel company but started organizing city walks of her own in Shanghai because she wanted to show the human side of the city as well as its architecture. Through Anne, visitors to this buzzing city get to experience its various sides, including its colonial history, and learn about the stories that have shaped its character.
Singapore: Ready Cassette Go
Jessica is young entrepreneur who encourages sustainable art. As the founder of Rephyphen studio, she aims to inspire a sustainable way to be fashionable by inventing the MusicCloth(R) had been recognized by Material ConneXion(R) & University of Pennsylvania and stored in their world wide libraries. Here she leads anup-cycling initiative whereby we collect and weave discarded tapes as an effort to reduce and eliminate e-waste while giving the product new life.
About Airbnb
Founded in 2008, Airbnb is a global travel community that offers magical end-to-end trips, including where you stay, what you do and the people you meet. Airbnb uniquely leverages technology to economically empower millions of people around the world to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents to become hospitality entrepreneurs. Airbnb's accommodation marketplace offers access to millions of places to stay in more than 191 countries, from apartments and villas to castles, treehouses and B&Bs. With Experiences, people can see a different side to a destination through unique, handcrafted activities run by locals, while a partnership with Resy provides access to the best local restaurants in selected countries. All of this is brought together in one easy-to-use and beautifully designed website and app.