The 4 most interesting things from Airbnb’s earnings

Airbnb is considering hotel-like amenities for travelers.

Airbnb’s third-quarter earnings report showed that the company keeps growing — and that 2025 will be the year it breaks into a new business.

The short-term rental platform grew revenue and bookings during the quarter that ended September 30, it said after the stock market closed on Thursday. Executives said they’re lining up long-term growth with its co-host program and an expansion beyond accommodations.

Here are the highlights from the earnings report:

Airbnb’s third-quarter revenue grew despite a slow start

Airbnb’s revenue for the quarter rose 10% to $3.73 billion. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected revenue of $3.72 billion. Earnings per share of $2.13 missed analysts’ estimates of $2.14.

Nights and experiences booked jumped 8% to 122.8 million from the same period in 2023. Bookings were slow early in the quarter but picked up later, CEO Brian Chesky said on Thursday’s earnings call.

Shares of Airbnb were 4% lower at $141.55 in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Airbnb wants to get more people to list properties using co-hosts

In October, Airbnb started offering its hosts co-hosts, or people who can help manage a property that’s listed on Airbnb. The company launched its co-host network with about 10,000 people signed up for the role in 10 countries, Chesky said on the call.

The goal, as Chesky said, is to make hosting on Airbnb less of a burden — and attract more hosts and properties to the platform. While many people are interested in listing their properties on Airbnb, many don’t want to spend the time managing the property, the CEO said.

“That’s why we asked ourselves, what if we could match people with homes that don’t have time with people that have extra time but don’t have homes?” Chesky said.

“Not only would this unlock more supply, I think in the coming years, this can unlock millions of listings,” Chesky added.

Airbnb has plans for an AI chat assistant that will be able to cancel and rebook reservations for you

Airbnb is rolling out an AI chat agent that can answer basic questions, Chesky said on Thursday’s call. But the company sees opportunities for AI to do a lot more, he said.

Chesky said that future versions of the chat agent will offer personalized options based on users’ bookings. The result: An AI assistant that can see your upcoming reservation and cancel or rebook it for you.

Eventually, the AI assistant could take care of most customer queries instead of traditional customer support agents, Chesky said.

“We think, in the future, the vast majority of our chats are going to be intercepted and handled directly by the AI agent,” Chesky said.

Airbnb is planning to expand beyond short-term rentals next year

Airbnb said in its press release that it will break into a new business next year, though the company didn’t offer many details on Thursday.

“We’ll remain focused on accelerating growth while preparing for Airbnb’s next chapter, which will take us beyond accommodations,” the press release read. “You’ll see more on this next year.”

On the call, Chesky said that Airbnb’s expansion would start “with the nearest adjacencies around travel” before going “far beyond travel” over the next decade. He declined to say exactly what Airbnb’s plans are.

Chesky compared the expansion to Amazon growing beyond its bookselling business by adding CDs, DVDs, and other consumer products in the late 1990s.

“What I expect is, every year now for the coming years, we will launch one-to-two new businesses that will generate a billion dollars or more of revenue incrementally a year,” he said.