VICE and Airbnb Partner to Launch Custom Travel Experiences

Last year, Airbnb announced the launch of Airbnb Trips, which calls on locals to curate multi-day immersions and single day experiences for travelers. Everything from lessons with a samurai master in Japan to hunting for truffles in the Tuscan countryside have been made available to visitors looking for immersive experiences that go beyond tourist attractions. Now, Airbnb is bringing a millennial twist to its experiences by partnering with the mecca of millennial media, Vice.

“Vice has long gone all over the world to find the most unique stories with reporters on the ground, but we have never given our audience a chance to experience it,” Spencer Baim, Vice’s chief strategy officer told The Wall Street Journal. “This is something a bit different than a typical ad relationship, in that we are both putting in money and time to develop the offerings. We’ve done a ton of research on this and given that [Vice offices] are in 80 countries, our ability to send viewers on incredible trips seems pretty endless.”

The Airbnb and Vice partnership is kicking off with a contest in which 100 people will be chosen to experience one of four custom tours: the underground vogue movement in NYC, the music scene of Cape Town, the LGBTQ community of Tokyo, or a sex-explorative look at Paris.

The partnership seems a match made in heaven as Airbnb Experiences seems to appeal to younger consumers keen on immersive travel, which fits the core of Vice’s audience. The Vice x Airbnb contest is open until September 1st.