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Airbnb, the 18-year-old company, is once again trying to redefine itself.
On May 20, Airbnb announced a slew of cross-category expansions at its 2026 summer product launch event.
According to Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, this upgrade is reflected in multiple dimensions. In terms of services, fresh food delivery, car pickup, luggage storage, and car rental services have been added. In terms of accommodations, thousands of boutique hotels and independent hotels have been added, covering 20 popular cities such as New York and Paris, and offering platform price protection and cashback policies. In terms of experiences, landmarks, food culture, and activities have been added. The new businesses and functions are expected to go live this summer.
This also means that Airbnb is accelerating its transformation from a single accommodation platform to a one-stop travel booking platform.
However, becoming a traditional OTA is not the direction Airbnb wants to take.
Airbnb co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk said in an interview that “travel should be meaningful,” and Airbnb wants users to feel like locals rather than outsiders. This is the core issue he uses to distinguish Airbnb from traditional OTAs.
When asked if Airbnb will become more like a traditional OTA or create something new, Blecharczyk gave the latter answer.
In his view, Airbnb “absolutely will not” follow the old path of traditional OTAs, “OTAs list everything, but don’t have their own perspective.”
He added that Airbnb is building a multi-entry product matrix, with accommodations, hotels, experiences, and services all being entry points, and multiple business lines will be interlinked in the long term, forming a strategic synergy.
This multi-entry logic can be seen in the company’s Q1 financial report. Brian Chesky mentioned on the Q1 earnings call that experience products are becoming a new demand entry point: nearly 1/4 of users who book experiences for the first time will then book accommodations or services, and about 1/3 will complete accommodation bookings within 90 days. In addition, about 55% of users who book hotels on Airbnb for the first time will return to book accommodations.
The latest financial report also sends a positive signal. Airbnb’s Q1 revenue was $2.7 billion, up 18% year-over-year; net income was about $160 million, up 3.9% year-over-year; and adjusted EBITDA was about $519 million, up 24% year-over-year.
Furthermore, the App is also fully introducing AI functions, including review summaries, accommodation comparisons, and shared itineraries.
AI is also deeply penetrating the company internally. Brian Chesky revealed on the Q1 earnings call that nearly 60% of the code produced by Airbnb engineers is now generated by AI, which is estimated to be twice the industry average. The AI customer service self-resolution rate has increased from about 1/3 last quarter to over 40%. The cost per booking has decreased by about 10% year-over-year.
However, according to information disclosed by Blecharczyk to the media, Airbnb currently does not have an independent AI department, but rather views AI capabilities as a basic skill that every employee needs to master. In his view, engineers are natural early adopters, and the company’s current approach is to let early adopters with results share their experiences.
From Blecharczyk’s perspective, the bottom-up, early adopter-driven diffusion approach is more in line with the company’s current pace than setting up a separate AI department.
From the industry’s perspective, personalization and experience are becoming the main incremental drivers of travel consumption.
A report by Allied Market Research predicts that the global personalized travel and experience market will reach $44.73 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.8% from 2021 to 2030. Among them, the OTA channel size will increase from $22.6 billion in 2020 to $13.26 billion in 2030.
At the same time, China’s outbound tourism is also rising. According to data from the National Immigration Administration, the number of inbound and outbound trips in China reached nearly 700 million in 2025, a new high. Reports from multiple platforms and institutions, including Ctrip and Mastercard, also indicate that China’s outbound tourism has entered a new stage of “short-distance priority and experience-driven”.
Blecharczyk also confirmed this trend in an interview. In the first few months of this year, Chinese users’ accommodation bookings during the World Cup period showed a growth of over 200%, with an average trip length of 9 days and a tendency to combine multiple destinations.
However, this path is not easy for Airbnb. In overseas markets, OTA giants such as Booking.com still have a huge traffic base and conversion rate advantage.
Brian Chesky also acknowledged on the earnings call that Airbnb’s hotel business conversion rate is still significantly lower than Booking.com, and views it as a exploitable opportunity.
The Chinese market is even more complex. Although Airbnb has currently avoided competing with other platforms in the Chinese domestic market, domestic platforms such as Meituan, Douyin, Ctrip, and Mafengwo have already entered the local tourism and small group business, and the supply chain has formed a relatively dense coverage. Airbnb’s focus on services and other categories in China is also more similar to the form of local life platforms.
At the same time, Chinese OTAs are also accelerating their expansion overseas. Ctrip’s Q1 financial report shows that the booking volume of its international platform, Trip.com, increased by over 60% year-over-year. Ctrip has also publicly stated that it aims to increase the proportion of overseas business revenue to twice the current level in the next 3-5 years.
However, the Chinese market is not entirely without space for Airbnb. Airbnb executives have repeatedly emphasized in public that China is one of its important markets. It is precisely because of this that every year, Airbnb’s global launch event will raise questions about whether it will return to the Chinese domestic business.
Airbnb announced its entry into the Chinese market in 2015 and officially entered in 2016. However, due to various comprehensive factors, it announced the suspension of its Chinese business in 2022 and focused on the Chinese outbound tourism market.
Facing continued attention, Blecharczyk said in response to a reporter’s question that the company’s current focus is still on the rapidly growing Chinese outbound tourism market. As for whether it is possible to return to the Chinese domestic business in the future, he does not rule out the possibility and specific forms.
Blecharczyk frankly told reporters that with the favorable visa policies, China’s potential as a travel destination is huge, but due to the intense competition in the Chinese market, Airbnb needs to carefully evaluate the “right way” to participate in the market before taking any action.
When asked if there is a specific timeline for returning to the Chinese market, he clearly stated that there is currently no specific timeline to disclose.
