Airbnb is expanding aggressively beyond its core rentals business to take on Booking and Expedia.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online Airbnb's Next Battlefield Airbnb is expanding aggressively beyond its core rentals business to take on Booking and Expedia. GOOD DAY, READERS. Airbnb is pushing further beyond short-term rentals. CEO Brian Chesky unveiled a sweeping expansion at its annual Summer Release, including rental cars, grocery delivery, airport pickups, and experiences focused on landmarks such as the Tower of London and the Taj Mahal. Most services are powered by third-party partners, with Airbnb acting as the interface.  Airbnb’s moves take direct aim at Booking Holdings and Expedia, which have long used rental cars, hotels, and experiences to bundle trips and lock in repeat customers.     How many of your AI pilots are actually in production? Carnival's ratio is 100 to 6. MIT says 95% of organizations report zero ROI. On June 3, Expedia, Hilton, Booking Holdings, Marriott, and IHG share what it took to be the exception. JOIN THEM AT SKIFT DATA + AI SUMMIT →         DON’T MISS THESE STORIES Airbnb Adds Rental Cars, Stepping Onto Expedia and Booking’s Turf By Sarah Kopit Airbnb’s annual Summer Release announced a scatter shot of updates and additions, instead of one big bet. Many of them – including the company’s first foray into rental cars – cross squarely into legacy OTA territory. GET THE STORY Booking Holdings to Sell Ads Across All Three OTA Brands for the First Time: Exclusive By Dennis Schaal Booking Holdings' brands are giving up a little of their independence when a single team handles ads across all three OTAs. GET THE STORY Choice Hotels’ Patrick Pacious Is Out as CEO By Sean O'Neill Choice Hotels' announcement of a leadership transition without a confirmed successor points to an abrupt decision to part with the CEO. GET THE STORY         Boutique Travel's Blueprint for Growth RARE INDIA + SKIFT As experiential travel grows, RARE India is building commercial scale around boutique hotels while keeping each property distinct. View Article         MORNING HEADLINES Capella’s New President Wants to Crack Luxury’s Top Tier Within a Year GET THE STORY The Cold DM That Sparked a Real Estate Movement GET THE STORY GMH Hotels: The NYC Labor Deal Every Hotel Operator Should Watch GET THE STORY The Case for Keeping Some Friction in Travel GET THE STORY Rakuten Travel Plans U.S. Push: Exclusive GET THE STORY From Dara to Ariane: Mapping Expedia’s 9-Year Transformation GET THE STORY Expedia To Acquire CarTrawler in Second B2B Deal of 2026 GET THE STORY         For $7 a week, Skift gives you something the industry is missing – the full picture. Subscribe today for 25% off.         SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK Gen Z Is Breaking the OTA Model and Most Companies Are Too Scared to Admit It Loyalty programs, Google Ads, legacy booking flows... are they all on borrowed time? Michael Goldin, Brandreth Canaley, and Jamie Lane get into why betting on old consumer habits to hold with Gen Z is one of the riskiest plays in travel right now. High discovery on TikTok and LLMs sounds great until conversion stays near zero. And if companies are doubling down on social media distribution before fixing the actual product, they might be solving the wrong problem entirely. Plus, the Google Ads to booking pipeline has long been the gold standard of travel marketing spend, but with LLM ads on the horizon, even that might not be safe. GET THE FULL STORY         SKIFT TRAVEL 200 How are public travel companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to understand global market movements. Paid subscribers get full access here. GET TODAY’S INDEX SCORE         See more essential travel news in your search results. ADD SKIFT ON GOOGLE         Thanks for reading. We are switching to a new email platform to improve delivery. What does this mean for you? During this transition, these emails might land in your promotions or spam folder. To ensure you don’t miss out, please move this newsletter to your primary inbox.       DEFINING THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL. Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 Skift 35 W 31st St. New York, New York 10001, United States Terms of Service