Hosting Experiences for guests with accessibility needs

Airbnb is working on how to be a more inclusive platform, where everyone can participate and enjoy an Experience. People with disabilities may require an individual to attend an Experience with them in order to be able to participate fully—for example, an interpreter for a guest who is deaf or hard of hearing, or a personal care assistant for a wheelchair user. At Airbnb, we refer to that individual as an access provider.

Access providers may be called by different names around the world, but for the purposes of Airbnb Experiences, we consider an access provider to be a person, over the age of 18, who regularly assists a person with a disability, mental illness, or long-term illness with daily activities.

Access providers may perform a range of tasks, including providing personal care, performing tasks inside or outside the home, and arranging for transportation and medical care. Those designated as an access provider must be capable of providing the necessary assistance to the person with a disability.

Ways in which access providers may provide support during an Experience include, but are not limited to:

• Helping the guest get around the location of the Experience
• Helping the guest communicate with the Host or other guests
• Accompanying the guest to and/or with the use of toilets
• Helping the guest buy things
• Helping the guest with processes during a workshop/class
• Helping the guest eat or drink

Access providers are not required to:

• Live with the person they care for
• Receive pay for their time
• Have formal training

Experiences admission policies for access providers

Airbnb Experience Hosts can choose to allow access providers to join the guests they’re assisting in person at no additional cost.

When a guest who requires an access provider books an Experience that has this option enabled, their access provider won’t be charged for (or counted as) a separate seat.

Access providers that accompany a guest are not:

• Actively participating in the Experience without the booking guest - this means that they are not offered their own set of supplies, equipment, etc.
• Friends or family who wish to tag along on an Experience
• Child care support such as a nanny, au pair, or babysitter

For hosts

To turn this setting on for an in-person Experience, go to Your experiences, select Edit, then go to Price settings > Guest pricing.

When booking an Experience with this setting enabled, guests are asked to contact the Host to let them know that they’ll be attending with an access provider, and to discuss any additional details.

An access provider won’t be charged for (or counted as) a separate seat, and their attendance won’t be included in group limit or pricing calculations. If your Experience involves factors that limit the total group size, such as transportation or tickets, you may need to discuss these details with the guest ahead of the Experience.

For guests

You can search for in-person Experiences that offer free access provider admission. After making your initial Airbnb Experiences search by location and date, select More filters, and open Select accessibility features to show available filters for your search.

When booking an Experience with free access provider admission, contact the Host to let them know that you’ll be attending with an access provider, and to discuss any additional details. A 1:1 ratio of guest to access provider is assumed; please start a dialogue with the Host to determine what’s possible based on the specific experience.