Your crazy home ideas can come alive through Airbnb! The OMG! Fund by Airbnb is looking for concepts from established and aspiring designers, architects, DIYers, and makers from all around the world. By Ralan Kithan
Starting today, anyone with an out-of-this-world idea can submit an application on Airbnb and stand a chance to receive USD 10 million each! The Airbnb OMG! Fund will help finance 100 of the craziest ideas, giving 100 people an opportunity to turn the homes into actual Airbnb OMG! Category listings— Airbnb’s collection of the most unique homes. The crazier the ideas, the better!
About Airbnb’s OMG! Fund
Inspired by his experience as a designer and entrepreneur, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky launched the OMG! Fund as a passion project to help fund the development of the most extraordinary spaces in the world. The fund is a result of a surge in the trend of flexible living— a trend that has evolved over the last two years in part.
Flexible living shifts the focus on more unexpected spaces becoming destinations. Airbnb Categories, which launched last month, helps provide a 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 unravels the wackiest of them all.
To receive the OMG! Fund, an expert panel will judge the listing ideas based on originality, feasibility, guests’ experience, space, and sustainability. The judging panel includes dynamic personalities of design and architectural experts and Airbnb Hosts. It also includes style icon Iris Apfel; Koichi Takada of Koichi Takada Architects; Kristie Wolfe, an Airbnb superhost and prolific creator of OMG! Listings; and Bruce Vaughn, a Disney alum and Airbnb’s VP of Experiential Creative Product. The panel will choose the lucky 100 recipients—who aim to complete their newly-built spaces by next year—over the coming months.
Speaking from experience, Wolfe said, “My journey as an Airbnb Host began with a scrappy investment in an overlooked area, where I built a tiny home from scratch for about USD 32,000 (roughly INR 25,06,860).” Wolfe adds, “I went from making USD13 per hour (approximately INR 1,020) to seeing USD 208,000* (INR 1,62,92,744*) in earnings in less than three years, and leveraged that income to bootstrap my way through additional listings that allow me to express my creativity and connect with hundreds of people in the process.”
Airbnb OMG! Listings in India
To help you fill your vacation itinerary with thrilling experiences, choose from Airbnb’s most popular listings OMG! listings in India:
Whispering Pines Cottages|Treehouse|Tandi, Jibhi, Himachal Pradesh
Whispering Pines Cottages is located in the woods of Tandi in Jibhi, and is surrounded by apple and pear orchards. It is a treehouse made of natural materials, including wooden furniture. The sounds of nature echo through the cottage, making it an ideal space to get away from the loud city-life.
The Countryside Farm, Kamshet, Lonavala, Maharashtra
A perfect place for a getaway, this Airbnb home is surrounded by five acres of luscious farmland nestled among the hills in Maharashtra. It has spacious, open interiors, and a gorgeous garden for a picnic under the sunshine. This modern farmhouse has a wrap-around balcony providing wonderful views of the nearby fields.
Tree house | Duplex | Balcony With Himalayan View, Fagu, Himachal Pradesh
This charming Airbnb home in Cheog is perched atop deodar trees. The dreamy cottage is made using wood, and radiates a warm ambience. When here, spend peaceful days admiring Himalayan valley views and nights gazing up at the stars.
NEW Abidal Resort, Colomb bay, Patnem beach #1, Canacona, Goa
This Airbnb home will introduce you to a different side of Goa. Located in South Goa, NEW Abidal Resort offers views of the Colomb Bay with the tranquil blue sea only a foot away. This beachfront accommodation is ideal to spend lazy days swimming in the ocean, relaxing on a hammock, or enjoying a sundowner at the shore.
The OMG! Fund by Airbnb will open today and will accept requests till July 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Related: 9 Magical ‘Harry Potter’-Themed Airbnbs Around The World
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