Airbnb is enhancing its platform with new social features for Airbnb Experiences, designed to facilitate interaction among guests before, during, and after their activities. The updates also include improvements to search, maps, payments, AI-powered support, and host tools to better manage listings and pricing ahead of the busy winter travel season.

The social features aim to strengthen connections between guests. A survey in India revealed that over 90% of respondents wanted to learn more about fellow guests before booking. In response, Airbnb now displays attendee information, including locations, and allows guests to message each other during and after experiences. The Connections section in the Airbnb profile tab also helps users reconnect with past contacts, while maintaining full privacy control over profile sharing and messaging permissions.

To enhance discovery, Airbnb has expanded search results to include homes slightly outside original criteria and introduced updated maps. Users can filter by landmarks, attractions, restaurants, and more, with future plans to add satellite, street, and transit views. The Reserve Now, Pay Later option lets guests reserve eligible stays without upfront payment, initially launched in the U.S. and slated for global expansion.

Airbnb’s AI assistant has been upgraded for smarter, personalised support in English, Spanish, and French across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. The assistant can recognise users, reservations, or listings, offering faster responses and allowing common tasks like cancellations or date modifications directly in the chat interface.

Hosts gain new tools for flexibility and insight, including setting different cancellation policies for specific periods, receiving advanced price recommendations, and planning for seasonal trends. In the following year, hosts will also be able to view year-on-year earnings trends and compare seasonal performance through a redesigned dashboard.

These updates aim to create a more seamless and engaging experience for both guests and hosts, combining social connection, flexible payments, and smarter management tools across Airbnb’s platform.

In a time when consumers are increasingly questioning claims like “organic” and “natural,” Earthen Connect is bringing authenticity back to the shelf. This agri-tech natural foods brand uses a QR code-enabled traceability system, connecting buyers directly to the source of every product, from the farm where it was grown to the community that cultivated it.

Each jar of honey, packet of seeds, or pouch of turmeric now comes with a scannable QR code that shows the product’s complete journey, including farm location, grower name, harvest date, certifications, and sustainability practices.

“Trust in food has been compromised for far too long,” said Vaibhav Sinha, Founder & CEO, Earthen Connect. “We built Earthen Connect to close that gap, not with words, but with proof. Our technology ensures that when a consumer scans our product, they see exactly where it came from and who made it possible. Transparency shouldn’t be a privilege; it should be a standard.”

Organic labels alone don’t always tell the full story. Earthen Connect’s system delivers hyper-transparency, showing consumers not only what’s in their food but how it reached them.

For farmers, the platform offers visibility, fair pricing, and recognition, while its Fair Trade validation ensures local communities get the value they deserve. For buyers, it offers direct access to ethically sourced produce, giving them confidence in what they consume.

Empowering Conscious Consumption

For Consumers: Scan and verify every step of a product’s lifecycle, from soil to shelf.

For Farmers: Gain digital visibility and fair compensation through verified traceability.

For the Industry: A model that challenges opaque supply chains and sets new standards for “clean” and “sustainable.”

“Consumers are no longer satisfied with claims; they want clarity,” added Vaibhav Sinha. “Our traceability system makes information accessible, verifiable, and human. It builds a transparent bridge between the farmer and the consumer.”

About Earthen Connect

Earthen Connect is an agri-tech enterprise dedicated to building a transparent, ethical, and sustainable natural foods ecosystem. Combining technology, traceability, and Fair Trade principles, the brand ensures that every product—from raw forest honey and Lakadong turmeric to a range of superfoods—is honest, healthy, and responsibly sourced.

For more details, visit www.earthenconnect.com or scan any Earthen Connect product to trace its journey from farm to plate.

MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel platform, has introduced Semantic Search, an AI-powered feature designed to simplify the discovery of hotels and homestays. The feature allows travellers to type queries in everyday language, such as “pet-friendly hotels in Manali with a swimming pool” or “heritage stays near Jaipur forts with parking,” eliminating the need to manually navigate through multiple filters.

Built on the same AI framework as MakeMyTrip’s GenAI-enabled assistant, Myra, the Semantic Search system interprets open-ended queries to provide relevant, context-driven results tailored to individual preferences. Users receive personalized recommendations enhanced by property visuals, curated user-generated content, and context-based rankings.

The system also includes AI smart suggestions, offering recommendations like “beachfront hotels in Goa” or “Ooty stays with mountain views,” complete with context tags such as “great for families” or “private pools available.” This ensures faster, simpler, and more intuitive discovery for travellers seeking the perfect stay.

“Our goal is to make travel planning as natural as conversation. With AI Search within the stay booking experience, we’re simplifying one of the most important parts of the traveller journey, finding the right stay. Instead of forcing users to think like a system, we’ve built a system that understands how people naturally express themselves,” said Ankit Khanna, Chief Product Officer, MakeMyTrip.

This development builds on MakeMyTrip’s broader AI innovation strategy. Earlier this year, the company launched the Beta version of its GenAI Trip Planning Assistant, Myra, which supports travellers across the journey, from discovery and booking to in-trip and post-travel assistance. Currently available in English and Hindi, Myra also plans to expand into additional Indian languages based on user feedback.

With Semantic Search, MakeMyTrip aims to deliver a more natural, personalised, and efficient experience for travellers, taking the frustration out of finding the ideal stay and setting a new benchmark for AI-driven travel planning in India.