Airbnb News

What started as AirBedandBreakfast.com has grown into a massive public company that IPOd in 2020. Airbnb is now the world’s largest online alternative-accommodation community, allowing millions of users to list, search, and rent authentic homestays and vacation-rental experiences in countless cities across the globe.

Hotels

Airbnb Builds Hotel Team to Take On the OTAs

For years people have wondered whether Airbnb's business is doomed as it faces increased regulation around the world. Airbnb has an answer to getting shut out in that manner — hotels, hotels, hotels.

Dennis Schaal | 5 months ago

Short-Term Rentals

The Thrill Is Gone: Airbnb and the Crisis of Imagination in Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb’s struggle to translate technology into better stays mirrors the broader sector’s problem — digital scale without physical control limits how innovative short-term rentals can be.

Rafat Ali | 5 months ago

Online Travel

Airbnb’s Chesky on AI Cutting Jobs: ‘Not as Much as I Thought’

While competitors cite AI efficiency as a reason to cut staff, Brian Chesky argues that faster growth will absorb the gains. At least for now.

Adriana Lee | 5 months ago

Travel Technology

Airbnb Hires Former Meta AI Chief Ahmad Al-Dahle as CTO

By hiring Meta’s former generative AI chief as CTO, Airbnb showed that AI is no longer a side project — and underscored online travel’s competition for Big Tech talent.

Adriana Lee | 5 months ago

Experiences

Why K-Pop Sensation BTS’ Comeback Tour Is a Test Case for Live Tourism

The music may be the headline of BTS’s comeback tour, but the travel boom is the subtext, and arguably the bigger story.

Peden Doma Bhutia | 5 months ago

Image: Ed Sheeran's concert at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai on March 16, 2024.

Experiences

Why Live Music Has Become a Serious Travel Business in India

Young travelers are defining India's travel journey, and they are going wherever the music takes them.

Bulbul Dhawan | 5 months ago

Hotel and booking apps on a smartphone screen.

Online Travel

AI Panic, Airbnb’s Gambit, Tripadvisor Turmoil: Skift’s 2025 Online Travel News Quiz

We’d like to know how closely you paid attention to news being made by online travel booking sites over the last year.

Dennis Schaal | 5 months ago

Online Travel

Online Travel Is Set for Growth, But AI Threatens the Status Quo

OTAs are posting record revenues, and the top four still dominate. But they face a major shift if AI platforms bypass them altogether.

Saniya Zanpure | 5 months ago

Image of a high-end sofa and shoes with distinctive furniture, with big windows overlooking a sunny day and a park with palm trees in California.

Hotels

Can Airbnb Work for Hotels? What Early Tests Show

Better rates and more visibility are clear advantages for independent hotels. But the presentation still needs some work.

Sean O'Neill | 6 months ago

Hotels

No Vote on NYC Bill to Ease Short-Term Rental Rules

A change is possible, but for now prospects for altering New York City's quasi ban of short-term rentals look darker than an alleyway in the Bowery.

Dennis Schaal | 6 months ago