The International Olympic Committee is encouraging current and former Olympic athletes to sell personal experiences and access to their training regimes to fans via Airbnb.
At a press conference in London to announce Airbnb’s $500m (£380m) sponsorship of the next five Olympics, the IOC president, Thomas Bach said: “From this partnership there will also be direct benefit for athletes.”
He said: “With Airbnb’s support we will develop new opportunities for athletes around the world to develop their own direct revenue streams through the promotion of physical activity and the Olympic values.”
The Olympian Experiences scheme would also “enrich the Olympic experience of the spectator”, Bach said.
Stephanie Reid, a British long jumper who won silver medals at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games, said she was considering offering a range of experiences to fans via Airbnb.
She said one of the first things she would offer were lessons in how to deal with nervousness before competition. “What I do is just normal to me, but other people think it’s really cool,” Reid said.
Mikel Thomas, a Trinidad and Tobago athlete who competed in the 110m hurdles at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games, said he would offer opportunities to go running with him. “Would [Airbnb users] want to run through cities with me while I’m on the Diamond League tour?” he asked. “In a world that is so disconnected, [this will help] get back to human interactions.”
Aoife McArdle, Airbnb’s head of Olympic partnership, said the scheme was a way to connect Olympic athletes with fans. She said Olympians could share their journeys “and make some much-needed income”.
Airbnb and the IOC did not state how much money athletes would be able to charge. Other experiences currently offered by Airbnb include £77-a-person boxing lessons with Keisher “Fire” McLeod, a world champion; a prehispanic Shaman renewal ceremony in Mexico for £63 a person; and “horse whispering with an equine therapist” in Barcelona for £70 a person.
The Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia refused to respond to questions at the press conference about the company’s tax affairs in the UK.
Airbnb, which is valued at up to £32bn, paid less than £400,000 in UK taxes last year, according to accounts filed at Companies House. It reported UK sales of more than £300m.
This summer 10 European cities demanded more help from the EU in their battle against Airbnb and other holiday rental websites, which they argue are locking locals out of housing and changing the face of neighbourhoods.
In a joint letter, representatives of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Kraków, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna said the “explosive growth” of short-stay lettings platforms should be on the agenda of the next set of European commissioners.
