Airbnba pioneer of home sharing, long-standing synonym for providing travelers with alternatives to traditional hotels, now making hotels the cornerstone of its growth strategy. Company’s Revenue released in 2025 in the second quarter and Subsequent analysts called Offering an impressive candid roadmap for finance and transformation, confirming that embracing hotels is no longer a taboo for Silicon Valley home unicorns.
Airbnb boasted about Wall Street’s expectations, reporting revenue of $3.1 billion in the second quarter, up 13% year-on-year, with adjusted revenue of $1.03 per share. Net income reached $642 million, and the company booked $134 million in “nights and experiences” which grew 7% per year. With leading growth in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, accelerated demand extends globally, and even North America growth shrinks.
As Execs expects investors to be more satisfied with Airbnb’s cautious guidance in the second half of 2025 due to tough year-on-year comparisons and increased investment in technology and regulatory compliance. Chesky called ongoing headwinds, from hotels and regulatory pressure on short-term rentals, forecasting revenues between $4.02 billion and $4.1 billion in the third quarter, while confirming that substantial investment in the new program could compress profit margins in the short term.
Investors responded that Airbnb’s stock was down more than 6% after the call, and the stock was down more than 7% since earnings as of press time.
About those hotels: Airbnb will compete more directly with the travel sector, Chesky said.
“We will be more active in the hotel,” Chesky said at the end of the call, adding that Airbnb has spoken to hotels around the world, especially independent, boutiques and bedtime hours. “We spent a lot of time thinking of a hotel as a business. We think it’s really convincing, and we think it’s related to hotels on Airbnb.”
Airbnb’s hotel stage
Crucially, Airbnb’s phone calls are focused on its expansion “beyond the core” (including hotels). Chesky calls it “rather than or” strategy: Airbnb will maintain its iconic housing products while increasing the supply of hotels, especially international supply that still sees growth opportunities internationally. “A large part of the hotels in Europe are independents,” Chesky said.
Why change? Airbnb data suggests that many travelers browse the list of homes, but not always book because of the lack of availability or preference for hotel amenities. By integrating hotels, Airbnb fills the internet gap, especially when family choices are limited in cities and peak hours.
Chesky offers the company’s hotel checkout app as an example of a successful acquisition. “Historically, we’ve focused primarily on organic construction, but we’re absolutely willing to do acquisitions and we’re going to look at it. And I think now we have a better place to consider acquisitions… We’ve already got this new expansion strategy, and we’re not only focusing on all aspects of travel, but also living on travel.”
It’s an open debate for some Reddit’s communities, whether it’s hotels or Airbnb is the better choice. A thread, R/Travelhacks,Function discuss Is there a difference at the moment? One commenter wrote that the general consensus appears to be that Airbnbs travels alone against large groups and hotels, although depending on the location. Of course, this is the gap that Chesky and Airbnb want to see.
Technology-driven hospitality and lifestyle expansion
The hotel is just part of Airbnb’s ambitious remake. Chesky also described the efforts to turn Airbnb into what he described as “AI-first application.” The company is betting on its AI-powered customer service agents to increase efficiency and personalization.
He said the agency, leveraging 13 professional models trained in tens of thousands of customer interactions, has managed to reduce the need for human intervention by 15%.
Chesky told analysts he believes that “AI apps” will soon become ruler, and Airbnb, as “non-ai-native apps”, needs to move in this direction.
“We started with customer service. We are planning our travels,” he said.
Then he described it as looking like.
“It not only tells you how to cancel your reservation, but it also knows what you want to cancel,” Chesky said. “It can cancel for you and it can be an agent because it can start searching and help you plan and book your next trip.”
The CEO outlines future plans for deeper integration of AI, from extended language support to a platform that can be used as a “everything application” for travel and experience.
Chesky ends the call by strengthening Airbnb’s commitment to innovation and highlights what measures the company will do no Become: a product. “I don’t think we’re going to be an agent or an operator to book Airbnb for you because we’re not a product. But I think it could be a very interesting prospect for Airbnb.”
Chesky said Airbnb was probably the largest travel brand in the U.S. in the early stages of the call, and the company’s current move is moving beyond that.
“What we are trying to do is build a platform, a platform, a platform with houses, services, experiences, hotels and more. Of course, we will try to expand this platform and continue to (start) new business over and over again.”
For this story, wealth Use the generated AI to help with the initial draft. The editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
