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.

An Airbnb superhost and guest sit at a dining room table in Chicago cutting and arranging flowers.

Online Travel

Airbnb to Hold First National Host Summit as Policy Shifts Create Friction: SCOOP

It's a critical moment for Airbnb to do some explaining — and listening — to its largest hosts about policy changes. Many of the policy tweaks also dramatically affect individual hosts, who won't be represented.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

An outdoor bowling alley at an Airbnb in Yucca Valley, California in 2022.

Online Travel

Airbnb’s Categories Were Meant to Reinvent the Search Box – Now They’re Gone

Category search lost its utility for Airbnb when it expanded beyond one product, homes. It was telling that none of Airbnb's online travel agency multi-product rivals implemented their own version of Category search, which Airbnb touted as being so innovative.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in the background appearing virtually. Skift founder Rafat Ali in the foreground sitting on a yellow chair.

Online Travel

Airbnb Services: What We Know 4 Months After Launch

Airbnb is following the money on Services, and investing in the ones that are most popular. Test and learn, as they say.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky speaking at Skift Global Forum on September 16, 2025.

Online Travel

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky at Skift Global Forum — Full Video

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky detailed the company's massive reinvention at the Skift Global Forum, which includes leaning more into experiences, hotels, and international growth.

Meghna Maharishi | 9 months ago

Drew Pinto, Marriott CTO, Steve Hafner, Kayak CEO and Kelly Ungerman, senior partner at McKinsey at the Skift Global Forum.

Travel Technology

‘AI Is Everywhere – Except the P&L’: Tech Takeaways From Skift Global Forum

AI was all the rage at the Skift Global Forum this week, with the industry’s top executives revealing excitement, and uncertainty, as the tech takes center stage in travel.

Adriana Lee | 9 months ago

Online Travel

The End of Travel’s Big Four Stranglehold: Rafat’s Notes from Skift Global Forum

The growth-at-all-costs playbook that built online travel platforms is dead. The disruption opportunity with new players isn't theoretical anymore, it's structural, and it rewards depth over scale.

Rafat Ali | 9 months ago

Tourism

Skift Global Forum 2025: 13 Things We Learned

What's next for Airbnb? How are the most important travel companies using AI? And do travelers have 'price fatigue'? Here's what we heard from more than two dozen executives at the Skift Global Forum.

Lex Haris, Darin Graham, Dennis Schaal, Luke Martin, Meghna Maharishi, Peden Doma Bhutia, Rashaad Jorden, and Sean O'Neill | 9 months ago

Short-Term Rentals

Rebuilding Airbnb: How a Tech Overhaul Unlocks New Businesses

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky talks beds, bots and better travel experiences, and that’s just the beginning, as it eyes new businesses and AI expansions.

Adriana Lee | 9 months ago

Hotels

Airbnb CEO: ‘We Are Now Getting Serious About Hotels’

Airbnb is no longer dabbling in hotels. It’s betting big on independents as a growth engine.

Luke Martin | 9 months ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb’s Brian Chesky Is ‘Not Happy’ With the Company’s Growth. Here’s His Plan

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company needs to expand more into experiences, hotels, and the international market if it’s going to get the growth rate back up.

Meghna Maharishi | 9 months ago