Floating Up House, X-Men Mansion, Purple Rain: Airbnb Icons For Rent

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With a house straight from Pixar, a Paris clocktower and Prince’s “Purple Rain” home, Airbnb’s new rentals are more than hotel alternatives.

May 1, 2024 5:25 pm PDT | Updated May 1, 2024 5:36 pm PDT

LOS ANGELES, CA — The home looks like something straight out of a Pixar movie: A charmingly cartoonish house seemingly floating above the dramatic red-rock vistas of New Mexico with an enormous bouquet of balloons emerging from its chimney.

This is one unique Airbnb listing. Indeed, it’s a pitch-perfect recreation of the computer-animated home in “Up” — right down to the custom-made furniture. While the balloons famously carry away the house in the 2009 film, the real-life version gets some air, too, with the help of a massive crane.

“Just like in the movie, this house goes up. This is a 40,000-pound house with 8,000 gallons attached to it. And it’s suspended 50 feet above the ground,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said during a splashy unveiling in Los Angeles Wednesday.

Located in the scenic red rocks of Abiquiu, New Mexico, this house is a detailed recreation of Carl’s home from the Pixar movie “Up.” (Ryan Lowry)

Press and influencers from around the world were on hand for the presentation, which Airbnb used to launch its new Icons category of homes. From a night in Italy’s Ferrari Museum to a front-row seat of the 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony at the Musée d’Orsay, the new vacation rentals go beyond mere alternatives to a hotel.

“These experiences will make your jaw drop. But what’s crazy is most of them are free, all are under $100 per guest — and there are no cleaning fees,” Chesky said.

It was a line that earned chuckles from the audience, who knew how the company’s reputation has begun to slip in recent years amid the backlash against hidden fees and long lists of pre-checkout chores from hosts in addition to concerns about short-term rentals’ impact on the housing crisis across swaths of the country.

Designed by Mathieu Lehanneur — who also designed the 2024 Summer Olympics torch and cauldron — this bedroom is located inside the Paris art museum’s clock room. The stay comes with a front-row seat to the Olympics Opening Ceremony along the River Seine. (Frederik Vercruysse)

While Icons may smell like a publicity stunt, the move reflects Airbnb’s efforts to become the marketplace for unique vacation experiences instead of merely competing with hotels on price.

The category’s launch comes after Airbnb staged similar high-profile rental opportunities at the world’s last-remaining Blockbuster store and at a home dolled up to look like Barbie’s Malibu DreamHouse.

“It felt like you were stepping inside of Barbieland, and millions of people wanted to stay there. These experiences, they capture people’s imaginations and they allow people to step into someone else’s world,” Chesky said. “At its best, this is what Airbnb does.”

Those rentals were available to an extremely limited number of people. Icons, notably, will be somewhat easier to rent. Beginning Wednesday, several of the Icon rentals are available for booking requests. Prospective guests need to make their case by writing something that “shows a unique perspective” and their “connection to the icon.” The company says this year 4,000 Icon bookings will be doled out this year.

Featured in “Purple Rain,” this Minneapolis home owned by Prince has been restored to how it appeared in the film. (Eric Ogden)

The company on Wednesday also announced new features designed to make it easier for groups of people to browse, book and manage their rentals: shared wishlists, group messages and trip invitations.

A complete list of the initial 11 Icon rentals — from the X-Men mansion to Kevin Hart and Doja Cat experiences — is available on Airbnb’s website.