Trip4Real, which had already been partnering with Airbnb, promised "thousands" of experiences that were "made by locals" in a variety of cities around the world as a way of helping travelers find things off the beaten path. And that's something Airbnb has been keen on offering its users lately -- when it launched redesigned apps earlier this year, CEO Brian Chesky said the company wanted to include locally-sourced info about neighborhoods to help travelers avoid cookie-cutter, "drive-by tourism."

For nearly a year now, Airbnb has shown signs of wanting to use such information to plan entire trips for its users rather than just book them a room or apartment in a city. Last October, the company started testing Journeys, a way to pick a city and let the company book accommodations and pair that with meals, transportation and a local host to show you around town. And just last month, an Airbnb Trips app popped up for Android that served as a detailed local-sourced guidebook to various locations. The app was taken down just a few days later.

Earlier this year, Chesky also teased a big announcement for November that would take the Airbnb experience "beyond the home." It's certainly looking like the company will have something to announce later this year about the next evolution of Airbnb, and it's entirely possible that we'll see some of what Trip4Real offers in that new experience.

Airbnb offered the following comment on the acquisition: "We are delighted to welcome Trip4Real to the Airbnb family. [Founder and CEO] Gloria Molins and her team share our vision of a different kind of travel experience that is local and authentic. Their experience and expertise is a great complement to our ongoing efforts to transform the way that people travel."