"More Than A Place To Stay"
“We’re not just a vacation app - we’re going to be a platform, a community.”
From “The Future Of Airbnb” (March 2025):
“As we move into a new chapter for Airbnb, I’m curious to see if Chesky’s optimism will translate into products and services that are highly sought after by guests / hosts, and which can become real businesses for Airbnb (as opposed to something like “Icons”). Should that happen, it would provide the support to confidently underwriting the financial assumptions highlighted above... Over the years, I’ve developed a clear understanding of how Airbnb got here (where it has succeeded and where it has fallen short), along with Chesky’s vision on where to go next. The company learned important lessons about being spread too thin as they pursued non-core efforts in the years leading up to the pandemic, which I suspect will inform how they will approach this next chapter… While long-term success is far from assured, particularly outside of the travel business, I think Airbnb belongs on a very short list of companies that you’d bet on making this vision a reality.”
Last week, at Airbnb’s 2025 Summer release, Chesky laid out a broader vision for Airbnb. In a sentence, the objective is to expand what is bookable on Airbnb to include Services and (relaunched) Experiences. As was the case with vacation rentals and alternative accommodations in the late 2000’s and 2010’s, the premise (as I see it) is to reimagine how these services and experiences are marketed and booked - which, as we’ve seen in alternative accommodations, can greatly impact both demand and (critically) supply.
That’s the vision, and a somewhat obvious one. Where the rubber meets the road is execution; why should we believe that Airbnb will succeed in its attempt to grab hold of a market that many others (OTA’s), Airbnb included, have failed to capitalize on at various times over the past 10+ years?