Airbnb Has Initiated The $10,000,000 'OMG! Fund' To Build The Quirkiest Design Ideas
Last week, Airbnb launched an initiative to finance the craziest places on earth. The $10,000,000 OMG! Fund will be provided to 100 people who have a knack for creating the quirkiest Airbnb. The contest is so designed that the selected participants will have the opportunity to turn their design ideas into an actual Airbnb in the 'OMG!' category listing, which is Airbnb’s collection of the most unique homes.
"Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. Just browse the OMG! Category and you’ll find our collection of the quirkiest homes on Airbnb. If you have a jaw-dropping idea of your own, send it our way. You might just get $100K from the OMG! Fund to put toward your offbeat build." - Airbnb
Airbnb has established a fund dedicated to making the creative, unusual, and unique home-sharing space/listing ideas of aspiring hosts on Airbnb a reality. The aim of this contest is to identify, through an application and judging process, one-hundred people who will each receive a grant of up to USD $100K.
The process will be judged on the criteria of originality, feasibility, experiential quality, and sustainability.
Originality: A winning design will be more than just different. It should be surprising, one-of-a-kind, and inspire people to reimagine what a home can be.
Feasibility: The project entry should be achievable and able to pass building inspections and the like. It will also need to be completed by August 2023.
Experience: The interior should be as memorable as the exterior, striking a perfect balance between the oddball concept and comfortable home.
Sustainability: Think green. Consider using clean energy and recycled materials. The home should have a big impact on guests and a small one on the planet.
The process will be judged by four protagonists from different backgrounds providing justice to each criterion.
Iris Apfel: A leading figure in both fashion and interior design, Iris’ influential thinking has inspired designers for decades.
Kristie Wolfe: Kristie has created some of Airbnb’s craziest listings, including two treehouses, a fairytale-style home, and a potato hotel.
Koichi Takada: An award-winning architect based in Sydney, Koichi designs emotive spaces inspired by the natural world.
Bruce Vaughn: As the VP of Experiential at Airbnb, Bruce oversees the creation of inventive and immersive guest experiences.
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 clicked on 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.
The sole purpose of the prize is to enable each winner to carry out their plans of creating or renovating a unique space, with the intention that upon completion, guests will have the opportunity to experience the space by booking it on Airbnb.
If you are an existing or aspiring designer, architect, DIYer, maker, or anyone with an out-of-this-world idea can submit an application by simply describing your idea. If it is selected, you will be provided a chance to describe your idea in more detail. The applications are due by July 22, 2022, at 11:59 pm ET.
To apply visit Airbnb OMG! Fund website.
Images: Airbnb
Source: Airbnb
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