Airbnb has organised a rock concert … for great white sharks

Online accommodations platform Airbnb has orchestrated a very unusual experience for mid-November: a rock concert given in the Indian Ocean intended to attract great white sharks, and it’s none other than the group Kiss who will perform for a few guests and some members of the world’s largest predatory fish species.

As it seems that great white sharks have shown a preference for rock music, Airbnb has engaged the band Kiss to perform a concert for great whites off the southern coast of Australia.

“Research has indicated that low-frequency and pulsed sounds can be attractive to some shark species. Interestingly, different animals (even within the same species) appear to respond to sounds differently,” notes shark expert Dr Blake Chapman of Australian Geographic.

Kiss. Picture: Amy Harris / AP

The show will take place on board a boat equipped with a glass bottom in order to observe marine life.

The initiative has been developed in conjunction with Dr Chapman as well as Airbnb host Matt Waller, who with his crew has been “helping people have meaningful — and memorable — experiences with great whites” in their natural habitat.

As part of its new Animal Experiences initiative, Airbnb has organised the November 18 concert in order to promote awareness and fight negative perceptions of these giants of the sea, who do not spontaneously attack humans.

Only eight people will be able to participate in the experience. To try to secure a spot, one must sign up on October 14 at www.airbnb.com/kiss. Tickets are $50 (R779) and funds raised will go to the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

Picture: Airbnb

Airbnb has revealed this event as it launches its new animal-centred experiences.

While TripAdvisor, for its part, has announced that it will no longer make tickets for dolphin and whale shows for sites which have not taken measures to end keeping those animals in captivity, Airbnb has also chosen to communicate about the necessity of no longer using animals for entertainment.

The platform proposes experiences that encourage its visitors to reconnect with nature. This can mean hiking with rescue dogs or becoming a research assistant on projects involving gibbons in Thailand.

These animal experiences must respect a charter developed with the World Animal Protection group, which forbids, for example, interacting with wild animals, using animals as objects for selfies, or the use of negative training techniques.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.