Airbnb Expands into Hotels to Offer More Options for Travelers

Airbnb's core business was letting users book a room or a whole property owned by someone else. With the introduction of hotels, the company is now offering more options for travelers to book stays. Initially, Airbnb is partnering with boutique hotels in 20 cities, including New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, and Singapore.

A New Option for Last-Minute Bookings and Short-Term Stays

Airbnb has been testing out hotel listings for a few months and is officially adding a filter to search for them in its app. Users will see a pop-up to look at hotels if they are searching for a stay for one or two nights in a city. They can also choose to see only hotels by applying a particular filter in the search. Airbnb said that it is offering a price match guarantee and would refund the difference in app credits if you find the listing at a lower rate somewhere else.

"There are a few examples of the types of trips for which a hotel is probably better suited, such as last-minute bookings, one-night stays, and business trips," said Jud Coplan, VP of marketing at Airbnb. "What we've done in the Airbnb app is that when we can see you're searching for that kind of stay, we can recommend hotels without sending you to another part of the app or tapping on another tab."

Enhancing AI-Powered Features for Hosts and Guests

Airbnb is using AI in some other tools. With this release, it will let hosts add their address and let AI fill in details for easy listing creation. On the customer side, it is introducing category tags such as location, amenities, and family-friendliness that let you skim through reviews related to the tag.

*- Category tags will help guests find properties that match their preferences

• AI-generated summaries will provide information about properties

• Easy listing creation for hosts will save them time and effort

Expanding AI-Powered Customer Service

Airbnb is also applying AI to customer service. It rolled out the AI bot to the U.S. last year and is now eyeing global expansion with support for 11 languages. Chesky said during the Q1 2026 call that the chatbot handles 40% of its queries. The updated support will also have interactive cards, such as a way to update your trip or solve other issues.

• Interactive cards will provide a better customer experience

• Chatbot support will be available in 11 languages

• AI-powered customer service will save time and effort for both hosts and guests

Future Plans and Partnerships

Airbnb said that later this year, it will start using a voice-based AI assistant that users can talk to on a call. It said that it is working with multiple partners for this product, but didn't specify any names. When it comes to experiences and services, the company is adding visits with local guides for 3,000 landmarks and more than 2,500 food experiences in the mix.