Brian Chesky

Chesky says Airbnb has returned to growth mode, with its fastest revenue growth in over three years and acceleration even in its mature markets.

"Airbnb is back in growth mode," CEO Brian Chesky said in a release to investors. "It's rare for a marketplace of our size to reaccelerate growth, but that's exactly what we're doing. In Q3, we delivered our fastest revenue growth in more than three years, with acceleration across our business, including our most established markets."

Chesky notes North American nights booked grew at their fastest pace in four years, with more repeat and first-time guests.

"In North America, nights booked grew at their fastest pace in four years," Chesky said. "We're also seeing more guests return to Airbnb, and more people try it for the first time."

Chesky argues chatbots are the wrong interface for travel planning and says Airbnb is building a custom AI-native, generative-UI-like experience.

"Perhaps most importantly, we're building a new interface specifically for travel," Chesky said. "We don't think the traditional chatbot is the right way to plan travel. It's the wrong interface. So what we are doing is developing a custom-designed AI-native experience that responds to what guests are looking for … This is going to feel a little bit like generative UI in the sense that it's going to offer up the right interface at the right time for your specific travel needs."

Chesky believes specialization will win on complex tasks, and that specialized agents must be multiples better than general ones to overcome switching costs.

I think as they get really, really complicated, specialization is going to win. Now, the chat agent can hand over to a specialized agent, but a lot of people are going to go direct to the specialized agent

Chesky sees third-party AI agents as a discovery opportunity rather than a threat, noting bookings from them are currently immaterial.

My general philosophy on agents are, I'm generally excited about them. I don't see them as a threat. I see them kind of like Google as an opportunity for more people to discover Airbnb.

Chesky says hotels are growing much faster than the core business and will undoubtedly generate multiple billions in revenue in coming years.

Hotels are growing markedly faster than our core business. That's not to say our core business is growing slow. It's just hotels are a $900 billion market off of a very, very tiny base. I certainly don't want to put any like projections out there or forecast. But it's undoubtable that we will do multiple billions of dollars in revenue in hotels in the coming years.

Chesky says the hotel industry's reception was a complete 180, now viewing Airbnb as an ally that brings a new, Gen Z-heavy audience.

I think hotels suddenly saw Airbnb as a major ally. They really love the way they were merchandised. They love the fact that we were entirely new audience. We were disproportionately Gen Z.

Chesky calls pricing, especially AI-tuned dynamic pricing, one of Airbnb's biggest levers, with a win-win of lower prices and higher host income.

pricing is probably one of the biggest levers we have, certainly dynamic pricing.

Chesky says Airbnb is absolutely looking at a loyalty program, which becomes more compelling as more verticals are added.

we are absolutely looking at a loyalty program. We've been looking at it for a long time. I think I've said for a long time, the best loyalty program is plus customers loving your product.

Chesky says AI has sped up product shipping by about 70% and resolved roughly 40% of support issues without humans, cutting support cost per booking over 17%.

I believe AI is one of the best things to ever happen to Airbnb.

Chesky said Airbnb is reaccelerating growth, which is rare for a marketplace of its size.

It’s rare for a marketplace of our size to reaccelerate growth, but that’s exactly what we’re doing,

Chesky says AI is one of the best things to happen to Airbnb, speeding product shipping and cutting support costs.

I believe AI is one of the best things to ever happen to Airbnb. And I want to give you a few examples of what we're doing with it.

Chesky argues general-purpose AI agents won't dominate travel planning because it is aspirational and complex.

I don't think people are going to use one AI agent for everything. You see today's AI agents like Muse and Instinct are good at simple routine tasks like making a restaurant reservation or scheduling an appointment. But planning a trip is different. Travel is aspirational.

Chesky says Airbnb will launch a custom AI-native travel agent with specialized interfaces in the first half of 2027 instead of a chatbot.

We don't think the traditional chatbot is the right way to plan travel. It's the wrong interface. So what we are doing is developing a custom-designed, AI native experience to respond to what guests are looking for.

Chesky doubts a single chatbot will become the front page orchestrating all apps, saying that would require OS-level control.

I don't think there will be 1 chatbot that's like Google in the front page, and it is the orchestra conductor for every other app. I'll tell you a couple of reasons why that I don't think that will happen. The first problem is if that were to exist, I think it would have to exist at the operating system level

Chesky expects Airbnb's hotel business to generate multiple billions in revenue in coming years.

hotels are a $900 billion market off of a very, very tiny base. I certainly don't want to put any like projections out there or forecast. But it's undoubtable that we will do multiple billions of dollars in revenue in hotels in the coming years.

Chesky calls dynamic pricing a massive lever that can lower prices yet raise host earnings through higher occupancy.

pricing is probably one of the biggest levers we have, certainly dynamic pricing. ... if you just charge like $10 less, you'll make enough more bookings that you'll actually make a lot more in the long run because your occupancy is much higher

Chesky says Airbnb is actively considering a loyalty program, made more compelling by added verticals.

we are absolutely looking at a loyalty program. I don't have anything to announce, but I can say that as we add more verticals, we just have a lot more to work with. So adding verticals make loyalty program more compelling.

Chesky says third-party AI agents currently drive negligible traffic and bookings, and he views them as opportunities rather than threats.

we're not seeing a lot of traffic in even fewer bookings from Muse and Instinct, yet. We do have nearly 0.5 million bookings a day and a very nonmaterial number of bookings happen on Muse and Instinct.

Chesky sees social travel features as a hugely underestimated opportunity and plans more in 2027.

we thought what if we brought back the social graph, but instead of being an online social graph, it was a social graph in the real world of the people you travel with and the people you meet along the way of your travels. ... we are going to be launching a lot more social features and social connected features next year.

Chesky says sponsored listings will be developed within the AI agent context after the agent launches.

we are developing sponsor listings, but they'll be developed in the context of the AI agent. So we first need to launch the AI agent. We need to refine it, and then we figure out how ads work in that new world.

Chesky argues general-purpose AI agents handle routine tasks well but travel planning is aspirational and discovery is part of the experience, so Airbnb is building its own agent.

Today’s AI agents like Muse and Instinct are good at simple routine tasks like making a restaurant reservation or scheduling an appointment. But planning a trip is different. Travel is aspirational. Discovering where to go and where to stay is part of the experience.

Chesky says Airbnb's agent will use generative-UI-style travel-specific components rather than text-heavy chat, and will launch in the first half of 2027.

What we are doing is developing a custom-designed AI-native experience that responds to what guests are looking for. So instead of relying on traditional chat alone, which is very text-heavy — which, again, is definitely not the way you should plan travel, our agent draws from a library of hundreds of travel-specific interface components — maps, photos, comparisons, calendars, itineraries — and composes them in real time to match what they’re looking for.

Chesky says Airbnb has reaccelerated growth, with Q3 its fastest revenue growth in over three years.

Airbnb is back in growth mode. It’s rare for a marketplace of our size to reaccelerate growth, but that’s exactly what we’re doing. Q3 was our fastest revenue growth in more than three years,

Chesky said Airbnb sees little traffic and even fewer bookings from the Muse and Instinct AI agents so far.

We’re not seeing a lot of traffic, and even fewer bookings, from Muse and Instinct yet

Chesky does not view AI agents as a threat but as a discovery channel like Google that can bring more people to Airbnb.

I see them kind of like Google, as an opportunity for more people to discover Airbnb.

Chesky argued that travel planning is part of the experience, so most people won't want to hand it entirely to an agent.

Travel is aspirational. Discovering where to go and where to stay is part of the experience.

Chesky argues general-purpose AI agents are ill-suited to trip planning because travel discovery is aspirational, which is why Airbnb is building its own AI travel agent.

Today's AI agents, like [Meta's AI agent] Muse and [invite-only AI assistant] Instinct, are good at simple routine tasks like making a restaurant reservation or scheduling an appointment. But planning a trip is different. Travel is aspirational. Discovering where to go and where to stay is part of the experience… I don't think the general-purpose agents are the best to do that. That is why we are building our own AI agent.

Chesky describes an agent that dynamically generates custom interfaces for tasks like car rental and inviting co-travellers, moving beyond a pure chat experience.

If you want a car rental, the agent generates this little UI of a car, and it's [presented] beautifully in a custom-generated interface. If you want to invite co-travellers, the agent helps you.

Chesky says Airbnb's own AI travel agent benefits from two decades of data and control over the booking process, including payments, changes and support.

Regarding our self-built AI travel agent: We believe there are three key advantages. First, we understand our own market best, with nearly 20 years of data. Second, we control the booking process itself, including payments, changes, and customer support protection.

Chesky argues domain-specific agents with generated custom UIs, a 'post-chat interface', beat text-only general agents.

We are not building a general-purpose agent—general interfaces can only be full-text, whereas domain-specific agents can generate customized UIs, such as a car rental interface. This is the "post-chat interface."

Chesky says external general-purpose agents drive negligible bookings and are seen as a discovery channel, not a threat.

Traffic from general-purpose agents like Instinct is minimal, with bookings described as "very few." Of our nearly 500,000 daily bookings, traffic from external agents is negligible. After peaking in early October, related traffic has remained stable over the past four weeks. We view this as an opportunity rather than a threat—it functions as a discovery channel similar to Google.

Chesky doubts a single chatbot will dominate everything, expecting specialized agents to win on complex tasks.

I don’t believe a scenario will emerge where “a single chatbot dominates everything like Google”—operating systems won’t allow it, such as Apple. General-purpose agents are suitable for simple, everyday tasks, but specialized agents will outperform them in complex tasks

Chesky says hotels are growing much faster than the platform and a $900 billion market will yield multiple billions in revenue, a reversal of Airbnb's early stance.

Hotel growth has significantly outpaced the overall platform. The hotel market is a $900 billion industry and will generate multiple billions of dollars for us over the coming years. dollars" in revenue. We don’t need to win the entire market—just get hotel guests to book on Airbnb. Our early slogan was "Forget hotels" — now a complete 180-degree shift in attitude.

Chesky says Airbnb is actively studying a loyalty program, noting it is the only major travel firm without one and that more verticals make it more valuable.

Regarding loyalty programs: "we are absolutely looking at a loyalty We are definitely researching a loyalty program. Apple doesn’t have a loyalty program, but its products are beloved; however, Airbnb is the only major travel company without a loyalty program, putting us at a disadvantage—the more vertical categories we have, the more attractive a loyalty program becomes.

Chesky calls pricing a major lever, saying AI-driven dynamic pricing can lift occupancy and host earnings, with results visible in coming quarters.

Pricing is one of our biggest levers. Dynamic pricing can simultaneously lower prices and increase earnings for hosts—for example, reducing the price by $10 can significantly boost occupancy rates. Adoption has been strong, though specific data is not yet disclosed; AI is exceptionally good at optimizing pricing, and results will become evident over the next few quarters.

Chesky says Travel Maps is rebuilding the real-world social graph, an underappreciated part of the business with more social features coming next year.

2004 to 2008 was the golden age of social networks, which later evolved into social media, causing the real-world social graph to disappear. This May, Airbnb launched Travel Maps, rebuilding the real-world social graph—your travel companions and people you meet on the road. I believe this is one of the most undervalued aspects of the business, and we’ll introduce more social features next year.

Chesky says sponsored listings are in development but will be designed around AI agents, with agents launching first.

Regarding sponsored listings: We’re developing them, but will design them within the context of AI agents—launching the agents first, then determining the advertising model.

Chesky says Airbnb is back in growth and, as it becomes AI-native, sees even bigger opportunities ahead.

Airbnb is back in growth mode and will stay that way. As we build Airbnb to become an AI-native company, I believe the opportunities ahead are even greater.

Brian Chesky said Airbnb is back in "growth mode" after its fastest revenue growth in three years.

CEO Brian Chesky said the company is back in "growth mode."

Chesky said every Airbnb booking will now help fund emergency housing for someone in need, under the new 10-cents-per-stay funding model for Airbnb.org.

“Every time someone books a home on Airbnb, they’ll help someone else find a place to stay when they need it most,”

Chesky rejects the idea that philanthropy should offset a company's core business impacts, insisting the core business itself must be responsible and corrected when it is not.

I don’t like this idea that somehow you create a nonprofit to make up for or apologize for your core business. Our core business, independently, is gonna affect a lot more lives than this organization. And our core business needs to be responsible. And if we’re doing something that’s not responsible, we need to correct it.

Chesky says the $500 million pledge will be fulfilled regardless of business outcomes and is sized to matter while remaining acceptable to shareholders.

We felt like this is a responsible number where it’s sufficiently big to make a difference in the world. But it’s also a number shareholders can be comfortable with.

Chesky says Airbnb will keep up the philanthropic effort for decades regardless of public perception.

Whatever people think of us, we’re doing this for decades. It’s up to them to judge us and our motivations. And it’s up to us to have a commitment that’s a decade-long commitment.

Chesky rejects the idea that a nonprofit should offset a company's core business impacts, saying the core business must itself be responsible and correct any irresponsible practices.

I don’t like this idea that somehow you create a nonprofit to make up for or apologize for your core business,” Chesky told The Associated Press. “Our core business, independently, is gonna affect a lot more lives than this organization. And our core business needs to be responsible. And if we’re doing something that’s not responsible, we need to correct it.

Chesky says the $500 million pledge is sized to matter while remaining acceptable to shareholders, and will be fulfilled regardless of business outcomes.

We felt like this is a responsible number where it’s sufficiently big to make a difference in the world,” Chesky said. “But it’s also a number shareholders can be comfortable with.

Chesky says Airbnb will sustain the philanthropic effort for decades regardless of public perception of its motives.

Whatever people think of us, we’re doing this for decades,” he said. “It’s up to them to judge us and our motivations. And it’s up to us to have a commitment that’s a decade-long commitment.

Chesky says that every Airbnb booking will now help fund housing for people in crisis through Airbnb.org, which he calls Airbnb at its best.

Now, every time someone books a home on Airbnb, they’ll help someone else find a place to stay when they need it most. That’s Airbnb at its best,

Chesky says pure people managers and rigid workers who resist change will fail to make the shift to AI.

The two types of people who will not make the shift to AI are pure people managers, and people that are rigid and don't want to change and evolve

Chesky predicts that managers who only supervise others will have no value in the future, with hybrid hands-on managers preferred.

I don't think people managers will have any value in the future