Airbnb announced Wednesday that it’s adding thousands of boutique and independent hotels, car rentals, grocery delivery, airport pickups, and luggage storage to its app, expanding well beyond its origins as a home-rental marketplace.
The hotel listings, which exclude large chains, will be available in 20 cities including New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, and Singapore, with more locations to follow. Guests who book a featured hotel will receive up to 15% credit toward a future Airbnb home stay, and a price-match guarantee will provide the difference as Airbnb credit if a lower rate is found elsewhere, the company said.
New services include grocery delivery through a partnership with Instacart in more than 25 U.S. cities, car rentals with a 20% credit toward a future stay on first use, airport pickups through Welcome Pickups in more than 160 cities worldwide, and luggage storage through Bounce at more than 15,000 locations across 175 cities. Car rental partner names have not yet been announced, according to Barron’s.
“Travel shouldn’t just be convenient. It should be meaningful,” co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement. “The best trips help you explore, learn, and come home a little different than when you left.”
Chesky told CNBC that he envisions the platform eventually offering dozens or even hundreds of service categories. “I think we can build a little bit, like an Amazon for services, at least for traveling and living,” he said. He also told The Wall Street Journal that the platform’s ultimate goal is to become “the everything app for traveling and living,” with the app itself eventually functioning as an AI agent.
The announcement also includes new AI features: A review-summarization tool, an AI customer support assistant now available in 11 languages, and a shared itinerary feature that maps reservations alongside nearby restaurants and activities. An AI-powered listing comparison tool and a voice assistant for customer support are planned for later in the year, the company said.
Airbnb is also offering FIFA World Cup 2026 experiences across six host cities, including watch parties and training sessions with former players Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, and Javier Mascherano.
The push into new business lines comes amid mounting pressure from local governments on Airbnb’s core home-rental model, Yahoo Finance noted. A 65-million-euro ($75 million) penalty was levied against the company by Spain in December, Barcelona has opted not to renew rental licenses set to lapse in 2028, and a near-total prohibition on short-term private rentals has been in place in New York since 2023.
First-quarter revenue came in at $2.68 billion, up 18% year over year, and the company lifted its full-year revenue guidance. The company has said it expects the FIFA World Cup to be the largest single event in its history by guest volume, with more than 100,000 properties added in host-city markets since October.
