Airbnb’s OMG Fund Recipients Include A Mushroom Spaceship and An Invisible Farmhouse
To recap: Airbnb recently added a series of categories to help travelers narrow down their rental search — including the OMG! Category, which spotlights delightfully eccentric stays around the world. In an effort to bulk up the category, the company launched the $10 million OMG! Fund, which provides 100 lucky recipients with $100,000 to bring their creations to life.
Selected by a panel of judges including design icon Iris Apfel, Airbnb Superhost Kristie Wolfe, architectural expert Koichi Takada, and Airbnb VP of Experiential Bruce Vaughn, this year’s selections truly run the gamut. Soon, you’ll be able to book a volcanic lava cave in Chile, an invisible farmhouse in India, a mushroom spaceship in Mexico — the list goes on and on.
“There were so many inspiring stories and destinations that I had never heard of before that I’m now eager to visit,” Wolfe said in a release. “As a builder myself, I can’t wait to watch these ideas come to life. These are more than just places to spend the night — each offers a unique experience!
Although many of the OMG! Fund recipients’ designs seem out of this world, common natural inspirations and sustainable solutions could be found within the thousands of entries. Airbnb noted that 7,931 entrants proposed using solar panels, while 961 ideas incorporated music in some way and 1,214 ideas involved treehouses. Meanwhile, 777 designs were inspired by fruit, and 400 ideas offered stargazing experiences.
Over the next several months, this year’s winners will use their $100,000 to design, construct, and outfit their spaces to be guest-ready by summer 2023. And who knows? By next summer, one of these fantastical spaces could be all yours for a night.
You can view the full list of OMG! Fund recipients here.