Can Airbnb Share Hotels Too? Expedia Challenges Booking.com
- Input
- 2026-04-19 05:59:16
- Updated
- 2026-04-19 05:59:16
\r\n
Airbnb, Inc. is turning to hotel bookings in an effort to escape a prolonged growth slump. By offering lower commissions than Expedia and Booking.com, it is bringing independent boutique hotels onto its platform.
The company is targeting business travelers rather than tourists.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 18th, local time, that Airbnb, Inc. has launched a pilot program in major cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Paris and Madrid, allowing users to choose from a range of independent boutique hotels as well as private homes.
It is luring hotels by offering lower commissions than established booking sites such as Booking.com and Expedia.
Its target customers are business travelers. They prefer hotels with predictable service and amenities.
The business travel market is large enough to tempt Airbnb, Inc. According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), global spending on business travel reached $1.6 trillion last year.
Adding hotels is also a response to growing efforts in some areas, including New York City, to restrict short-term rentals amid a housing crunch.
Hotels could also become a new growth engine to revive stagnant performance. Airbnb, Inc. shares have risen just 2% since the company’s December 2020 listing, as growth has remained sluggish.
However, the path ahead is unlikely to be smooth.
Richard Clarke, an analyst at investment bank Bernstein, said Booking.com and Expedia dominate the hotel booking market with their vast range of options, making it difficult for Airbnb, Inc. to break in.
Airbnb, Inc. is also expected to face competition from major hotel chains such as Hilton, Marriott International and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (IC).
According to Matthew Polman, head of leisure at law firm Goodwin Procter, these major hotel chains are strengthening partnerships with independent hotels to expand their networks quickly without bearing the enormous cost of building new hotels.
\r\n
dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter