Airbnb News

Airbnb is clearly now well down the path toward a host-only fee structure. Chalk it up to its push toward onboarding hotels, which don't charge guest fees, and Airbnb's competition with Booking.com, which sees guest fees as unholy.

Airbnb intends to grow further in Asia-Pacific by providing what it calls the most "magical" experience. The challenge, of course, will be staying true to its core values as competition intensifies.

There is little doubt that a limited-time hotel offering will attract the fast food chain's superfans in droves — and result in some extra revenue for the company.

Will Airbnb be able to break through in China and other parts of Asia Pacific where other Western companies have fallen off their scooters? We'll discuss these issues with Siew Kum Hong, one of Airbnb's earliest employees in the region, at Skift Forum Asia in Singapore.

ThirdHome just might have the winning formula on what affluent homeowners want when sharing properties. Scaling quality and keeping up a high level of trust will be key as it grows.

Falling victim to the so-called law of large numbers, Booking Holdings saw its total revenues for the first quarter drop 3 percent from the prior year. Industry ears perked up when CEO Glenn Fogel mentioned mergers and acquisitions as a possible tactic to reignite growth a few times during an investor conference call.

While Hawaii is not the only destination reeling from the impact of short-term rentals from Airbnb and other providers, its already sky-high housing prices and limited land make the problem especially acute. Regulatory measures to control the number of illegal rentals may provide some relief.

But Mark Hoplamazian didn't say Hyatt would never try it out again.

Airbnb is right to focus on unique experiences. Most younger travelers prefer one-of-a-kind experiences — not cookie-cutter ones.

The growth of Airbnb Experiences is impressive, but the company — and the overall tours and activities industry — has a long way to go before it can claim true success.