OMG! Fund: Airbnb rolls out $10 million for the world’s craziest listing ideas

Airbnb is on the hunt for the world’s craziest spaces — and will help foot the bill to build them. Whether it’s the next boot, UFO house or a 6-ton potato, the first-of-its-size $10,000,000 OMG! Fund is seeking ideas from existing and aspiring designers, architects, DIYers and makers from around the globe. The fund’s $10 million will help finance 100 of the craziest ideas, giving 100 people an opportunity to turn them into actual Airbnb OMG! Category listings, which are Airbnb’s collection of the most unique homes.

Anyone with an out-of-this-world idea can submit an application. One hundred people with the craziest ideas will receive $100,000 each to make their creations 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.

The fund is shaped in part by the growing trend of flexible living that has emerged in the past two years. As part of this shift, Airbnb guests are craving more unexpected spaces that become the destinations themselves, and Airbnb Categories, which launched last month, provide a new way to search for these spaces. More than 30,000 unique listings across the world were added to Airbnb in 2021 and the OMG! Category – which since introduced has been viewed 2.5M times – showcases the craziest amongst them, making it easy for guests to discover these listings in places they wouldn’t have otherwise looked.

Hosting on Airbnb provides powerful economic benefits to hosts and their communities. In 2021, unique hosts income in India increased by around 45 percent as compared to 2019. Additionally, nights booked at unique properties increased globally by over 49 percent from 2019 to 2021.