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.

interior of a sunnily lit airbnb in Bordeaux France

Online Travel

Squatter Scare for Short-Term Rental Hosts in France: Hype or Reality?

Media stories about "Airbnb squatters" in France make for viral headlines. But the real data and legal nuance reveal a very rare, if still unnerving, risk for hosts.

Chrissie McClatchie | 10 months ago

Room Mate Laura Hotel Madrid Duplex Deluxe Room source room mate hotels

Online Travel

Airbnb Ramps Up Its Hotel Biz With Global Job Openings

Airbnb's bid to vastly expand its hotel business will be labor intensive and a years-long effort. The job openings it is advertising are just the start.

Dennis Schaal | 10 months ago

An atrium in Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco.

Online Travel

Inside Airbnb’s Host Summit: Profile Changes for Property Managers, What Chesky Said – Scoop

The creation of business profiles for property managers on Airbnb would be a step forward in the name of transparency. Guests would be better served if they have a preference for individual versus professional hosts.

Dennis Schaal | 10 months ago

Hotel and booking apps on a smartphone screen.

Hotels

An Airbnb Loyalty Program Is In the Works and It Won’t Be Like Marriott Bonvoy

Airbnb will launch some type of membership program to give guests a reason to book a hotel on Airbnb rather than earn points elsewhere. It certainly won't be a clone of hotel group loyalty programs — that's not Airbnb's style.

Dennis Schaal | 10 months ago

Experiences

Booking.com to Add 150,000 Attractions With FareHarbor Tie-In

Don't expect a dramatic surge in Booking.com's access to new experiences inventory. Its announcement that this will happen "incrementally" was a tip-off.

Dennis Schaal | 10 months ago

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 | 10 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 | 10 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 | 10 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 | 10 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 | 10 months ago