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Does Airbnb have a problem?
Airbnb has recently done its summer release. But does it have a problem?
Chris Bowling
June 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes
Welcome back to another edition of The Hotel Hype. This week, we are taking a slight look outside of hotels to see how our industry disruptor, Airbnb, is doing.
But why are we doing this now?
Well… Airbnb has recently held its summer launch event. Rather than releasing consistent updates to products as and when they are ready, Airbnb are trying to be more Apple with big launch events.
Why? The press and Airbnb enthusiasts get all excited, and it creates some hype around the changes. It is a good strategy.
And the latest release once again saw Airbnb attempt to tackle experiences and move beyond just being a home-stay provider.
In a rush? Read the AI summary of the article. Ready for a deep dive? Read the extended article.
🤖 ARTICLE SUMMARY 🤖
Airbnb’s 2025 Summer Release introduces two major features: Experiences and Services. Experiences aim to immerse travellers in local culture through guided activities, while Services expand Airbnb’s offerings to include bookable personal services like chefs and spa treatments. These initiatives reflect Airbnb’s need to drive growth as a public company facing stagnant stock performance and rising competition from OTAs like Booking.com. Despite Airbnb’s brand strength, it lacks a defensive moat, making it vulnerable. The article questions whether these new features can generate meaningful growth and suggests loyalty programs or further market expansion, like transport, as potential strategies for long-term success.
So what was in the Airbnb Summer release?
The summer release had two main focuses.
Experiences
Services
Experiences
Experiences are all about staying like a local. So if you travelled to Paris, you could take a food tour and visit some of the greatest spots where locals go or take an art tour or visit hidden culture spots you wouldn’t normally see, all of these delivered by your local guide.
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