Airbnb News

We’re diving deeper into the fast-changing world of the short-term rental sector with this first-ever Skift Summit. Here’s what you can expect to learn and who you'll hear from at our inaugural event.

Is everything on target in the evolution of Airbnb's Experiences business? It's clearly not profitable yet after three years, and the leadership change at the top signals problems. That doesn't mean it's fatally flawed although this isn't precisely the portrait you want to paint on the cusp of Airbnb going public next year.

Do or die? Test and learn? Now or never? As Airbnb marches toward going public in 2020, a key question in many minds will be how Airbnb deals with Google — and at what price. There are no slam-dunk answers.

The short-term rental sector is rapidly expanding. Beyond key platforms in this sector, there is a growing ecosystem of property managers, startups and vendors that are competing to commercialize this space as regulators consider the rules and who's responsible for enforcing them. Find out who's joining Airbnb at this house party.

Google is following its hotel playbook in giving its own vacation rental and apartments business preferential treatment in Google search. As antitrust regulators take a look at Google's practices, and if travel is part of the review, this twist will be high on the agenda.

Airbnb Experiences continues to expand as the company launches its first animal-friendly category. The company encourages animal lovers to put away their tech devices with the funny dog videos and connect with wildlife in a safer environment. It's just good business for Airbnb too.

Airbnb has always put itself out there as not just another startup or your grandmother's online travel agency. Going the direct listing route, as opposed to a far costlier initial public offering, could fit in nicely with that narrative.

Airbnb’s focus on adding independent hotels instead of all-and-sundry is a smart approach. The vacation rentals company made more than $1 billion in revenue for the second quarter and intends to go public during 2020. It can't afford to meddle with the model.

While $1 billion in revenue is impressive, it's not the first time Airbnb has achieved the number. What matters for the homesharing platform is the growth narrative. Now that the timing of the company's IPO is pegged for 2020, we know just how long we will have to wait to see how the story line plays out.

It's 2019. Online travel agencies and hotels shouldn't still be using high-pressure tactics to get us to part with our money. There are much better ways. Hopefully the UK's action will spur other countries to do the same.