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.

Online Travel

Airbnb’s Newest Influencer Is …. CEO Brian Chesky

Airbnb has been a savvy public relations practitioner throughout the years, and the volume of press releases the company churns out annually is legion. Brian Chesky's yearlong digital nomad stint aligns with the company's brand narrative and marketing strategy.

Dennis Schaal | 1 day ago

Online Travel

Letting the Air Out of Online Travel’s IPO Bloat

Stock markets, at their best, can be hype killers, and public investors shot down many inflated private company valuations in 2021. This may be a sobering development for IPO and SPAC wannabes in 2022.

Dennis Schaal | 1 week ago

Online Travel

Google Maps Tops in 2021 as Most-Downloaded Travel App

No big surprises on Google Maps, but Booking.com outpaced rival Airbnb in downloads in the online travel agency category globally by nearly 20 million in 2021. That's not a game-changer, but it's important if Booking is going to eat into Airbnb's daunting direct-booking advantage.

Dennis Schaal | 1 week ago

Online Travel

Barbados’ Foray Into Online Booking and Other Top Travel Stories This Week

In Skift's top stories this week, Barbados creates its own online travel booking platform, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky takes suggestions from Twitter followers about what the company should launch, and 2022 will likely see a large number of major deals in the hotel industry.

Rashaad Jorden | 2 weeks ago

Online Travel

Online Travel Faces Lots of Unfinished Business in 2022

Several travel-oriented, special purpose acquisition companies are out there that have not announced merger partners. A SPAC glut and the lackluster performance of several online travel or short-term rental companies that recently went public could have some of the hunters coming up empty.

Dennis Schaal | 2 weeks ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb Won’t Show First Names of Some Bookers in Bias Settlement

Airbnb agreed to take this limited step on behalf of would-be guests who are Oregon residents because of a class-action lawsuit. If Airbnb really wanted to aggressively crush racism, shouldn't it have announced a pilot to do likewise in other parts of the world? Other platforms shouldn't be off the hook either.

Dennis Schaal | 2 weeks ago

Short-Term Rentals

What Should Airbnb Launch in 2022?

Worth a read, not just to appreciate the transparency into the product-led thinking of a giant, now-iconic company but also to just get inspired by some of these suggestions, and who knows, more startups to come out of these ideas.

Rafat Ali | 2 weeks ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb Settles Cuba Sanctions Issue With U.S. Treasury Department

Airbnb got caught up in the U.S. government's six-decade-long sanctions against Americans traveling to Cuba. The settlement amount was tiny, less than $100,000, and the Treasury Department characterized Airbnb's actions as non-egregious.

Kanishka Singh, Reuters | 2 weeks ago

Online Travel

The Most Important Story in Online Travel in 2021

Airbnb proved to be more nimble in 2021 than many of its competitors, and is leading the grand online travel experiment in reducing over-reliance on Google.

Dennis Schaal | 3 weeks ago

Hotels

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on the Future of Crypto and Metaverse in Travel

The intersections of identity and trust inherent in blockchain with travel and travel as a counter to the isolationism of metaverse makes for interesting applications in the coming future.

Rafat Ali | 3 weeks ago