Airbnb has decided to add independent hotels to its platformin a pivot by the company, known for short-term rentals, toward more traditional accommodations as it tries to boost its growth.
The platform has launched a pilot program in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Madrid, which allows users to choose from a variety of boutique hotels and private homes.
The San Francisco-based company is trying to attract new users to its growing network reducing the commissions charged by established agencies such as Booking.com and Expedia.
Jesse Stein, who was named Airbnb’s first head of hotels in January, said the company offers a ‘very competitive commission structure compared to other players in the industry.’
Adding hotels will help Airbnb attract business travelers, who tend to prefer the predictability and amenities of such accommodations over private apartments. According to the Global Business Travel Association, Global spending on business travel will reach $1.6 trillion in 2025.
This will also help offset the impact on Airbnb’s business from the growing trend in some locations to restrict short-term rentals, being New York one of the cities that have introduced new regulations
This initiative comes as Airbnb seeks new avenues for growth to boost its revenue and stagnant stock price. which has only risen 2% since its stock market debut in December 2020.
Founded in 2008 by a trio that included current CEO Brian Chesky, Airbnb built an $85 billion home rental business that transformed the way tourists find accommodation. However, The company has faced constant criticism for contributing, along with its competitors, to rising rents and housing prices.
Airbnb’s former policy director claimed last year that the company was a victim of political persecution by local authorities, as in the case of Barcelona, where sProtests against the boom in international travel after the pandemic occurred.
Growth has slowed, with revenue rising 10% in 2025 from a year earlier, the slowest pace since the start of the pandemic. Chesky stated in September that he was not satisfied with the company’s level of growth and that he planned to add several businesses to give the platform a boost.
Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke said: Airbnb would face stiff competition as it attempts to break into the hotel reservations market, dominated by Booking.com and Expedia, which They offer users a huge variety of options.
In an earnings presentation in November, Airbnb stated that it had been unable to fulfill many of the millions of searches for accommodation in New York on its platform due to regulations introduced in 2023 limiting short-term tourist rentals.
Airbnb’s Stein said that, in addition to its competitive rate structure, hoteliers like the platform for its young, high-net-worth customer base and the huge amount of data it has on user preferences.
He added that Airbnb had tried to partner with independent and boutique hotels, but did not rule out agreements with large hotel chains.. However, Airbnb also faces competition from some of these same chains, which are trying to convince independent hotels to join their networks as franchisees.
According to Matthew Pohlman, president of the hospitality and leisure department at the Goodwin law firm, companies such as Hilton, Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group are increasingly launching “flexible” collaboration agreements. The goal is to quickly add more capacity to their networks while avoiding the high cost of building a new hotel.
