In this edition of my newsletter, I'm sharing with you 4 articles that I've researched and written. They delve deep into the heart of Airbnb's strategies, financial health, technological advancements, and speculative future moves. My goal? To go beyond the polished press releases and captivating headlines to uncover the implications of Airbnb's actions on our businesses and the industry at large.
I also make bold predictions for 2024 and 2025. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fun, would it? If you enjoy how I mix booking trends, financial data, and connecting dots that may or may not exist, grab a cup of coffee and let's jive. I'm curious to know how you find my predictions. In the comment section below, let me know what you agree and disagree on.
Here are my 4 new articles:
Airbnb's 2024 Strategic Outlook: An analysis of Airbnb's 2024 strategy, blending continuity and innovation, focusing on expanding beyond short-term rentals. Based on Brian Chesky's remarks, I predict shifts towards a host service marketplace, an extended co-hosting marketplace, and the start of work on the Airbnb Concierge app (see below).
Airbnb's Financial Landscape: A review of Airbnb's 2023 finances, indicating a market slowdown due to stagnant growth rates and potentially due to an oversupply of listings, as inferred from Airbnb's pricing strategy
How Airbnb ranks your properties using AI: An exploration of Airbnb's use of AI in ranking host properties, simplified from two recent research papers, to uncover how your listings are prioritized (or not).
The Airbnb Concierge app: A bold prediction about the future: envisioning an 'Airbnb Concierge' app by 2025 that integrates AI to transform Airbnb into a comprehensive lifestyle platform, building on Chesky's hints at an app overhaul.
P.S.: I'm at VRMA Europe in Paris next week. I'll be speaking about pricing algorithms and revenue management strategies in view of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Let me know if you are attending the event too!
2024 Airbnb strategy: my predictions
Airbnb’s 2024 strategy is officially the same as 2023: More hosts, better core product, expand beyond the core. Yet, after several years focusing on the first two strategic pillars, it looks like 2024 will see Airbnb start expanding its wings further away from short stays and travel.
Airbnb Accomplishments in 2023: More Hosts, More Listings, Regional Supply Growth, Financial Impact on Hosts
Here are Rental Scale-Up’s main bets on Airbnb’s moves for 2024:
The Host Service Marketplace, a marketplace of free and paid services for hosts.
The larger deployment of the Co-Hosting Marketplace
The first steps in building a new lifestyle app, the Airbnb Concierge (more on that below).
Airbnb 2023 financial results: The vacation rental boom is behind us
Airbnb’s 2023 financial results are out and here is what they indicate:
A steady 14% growth in bookings and 16% rise in Gross Booking Value
Less than 1% increase in Average Daily Rate, indicating price stability
An 18% surge in active listings to over 7.7 million, showing robust supply expansion.
Rather than copy-pasting Airbnb’s press release, we share with you a few highlights and what we think they mean. This blend of demand-side growth with a substantial increase in supply marks 2023 as a year of maturation and slowdown for the vacation rental industry.
How Airbnb Uses AI to Rank Your Listings And Boost Its Revenues
Ranking (Partially) Explained: Discover what influences where your listing appears in Airbnb searches.
Map Adjustments: Notice how Airbnb's map view changes based on what you're looking for? That's AI at work.
AI at Airbnb: Learn how Airbnb uses smart technology to make finding the right place easier for everyone.
Key Tools: Meet the Journey Ranker and Low Inventory State (LSI) — Airbnb's solutions for personalized searches and solving low availability.
Behind the Scenes: Airbnb's use of AI goes beyond just searches, aiming to enhance the entire hosting and traveling experience. And boost Airbnb’s revenues.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Airbnb Special: 7 million listings / Airbnb Growth… Rental Scale-Up 9 months ago
Airbnb's upcoming Upgrades / VRMA 2022 recap /… Rental Scale-Up 1 year ago
Airbnb Concierge: An AI-powered lifestyle super app
What if? Airbnb CEO’s has been alluding to Airbnb completely redesigning its app and using AI to become a lifestyle super service.
At Rental Scale-Up, we’ve imagined what it could look like.
Will Airbnb Concierge become the lifestyle app that will replace not only Booking and Vrbo, but also MeetUp, Turo, BlaBlaCar, ApartmentFinder, and many more?
We’ve pulled together Airbnb’s existing and talked-about business lines from short-term rentals to apartments for tenants, experiences to car-sharing.
Then, we’ve thoughtabout how Airbnb could leverage AI and all the data it’s been collecting about you, whether guest or host, to create personalized offers.
Airbnb Concierge could also foster community through features like roommate matching services and local meetups.
An integrated payment system will be needed ensure easy and secure transactions across all services, whether payments by users or pay-outs to hosts, car owners, building owners, or experience providers.
Airbnb's 2024 strategy is officially the same as 2023: More hosts, better core product, expand beyond the core. Yet, after several years focusing on the first two strategic pillars, it looks like 2024 will see Airbnb start expanding its wings further away from short stays and travel.
Released in March 2024, these updates may have flew under your radar: Verified listings: Nearly 1.5 million listings across the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and France were verified and will receive 'verified' badges.
2024 Summer Release: Airbnb introduces Icons—extraordinary experiences from the world's greatest icons. Airbnb is introducing Icons, a new category of extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more. Icons let you step into worlds you've only ever dreamed of.
Based on 37 Wall Street analysts offering 12 month price targets for Airbnb in the last 3 months. The average price target is $154.35 with a high forecast of $200.00 and a low forecast of $110.00. The average price target represents a 3.20% change from the last price of $149.57.
A slew of new laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the fall are set to take effect in California . They include more Airbnb cancellation refunds, a new state mushroom and protections for complaining about your wages at work.
Airbnb 2024 Strategy's second pillar: Perfecting the core
This pillar focuses on enhancing the platform's functionality in key markets—primarily the US, Canada, France, the UK, and Australia—where Airbnb aims to solidify its presence as a leading choice for short-term stays under 28 days.
The 2024 Summer Release from Airbnb presents a promising array of features aimed at elevating the hosting and guest experience alike. From the introduction of Airbnb Icons to the array of new features for group trips and significant upgrades for hosts, these changes are set to make a substantial impact on the platform.
Airbnb's 2024 strategy is officially the same as 2023: More hosts, better core product, expand beyond the core. Yet, after several years focusing on the first two strategic pillars, it looks like 2024 will see Airbnb start expanding its wings further away from short stays and travel.
Airbnb price started in 2024 at $136.14. Today, Airbnb traded at $147.29, so the price increased by 8% from the beginning of the year. The forecasted Airbnb price at the end of 2024 is $150 - and the year to year change +10%. The rise from today to year-end: +2%.
Expanding Beyond Accommodation: Airbnb might explore expanding its offerings beyond just accommodation. This could involve integrating unique travel experiences, curated itineraries, or even partnerships with local businesses to offer exclusive discounts or activities for Airbnb guests.
Airbnb's strategy focuses on disrupting the hospitality industry by offering unique, personalized, and affordable travel experiences to customers. By adopting Airbnb's approach, organizations can create similar value for their customers and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Guests who are loud or disruptive, increasing traffic, and the commercialization of residential areas are some of the issues that some locals have taken issue with.
The Airbnb 2022 Summer Release: Introducing a new Airbnb for a new world of travel. With a new way to search designed around Airbnb Categories, the innovative Split Stays feature, and AirCover for guests, this launch represents the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade.
Can a guest cancel Airbnb reservation? There are several reasons why a guest might request a refund: family and health issues that can cause a guest to cancel a trip, weather events that impact a person's travel plans, or even work trips can fall through at the last minute.
Such data enumerates how Airbnb contributes to the lack of availability of housing for others to purchase. The lack of housing options combines with the soaring prices of rent individuals face, leaving hopeful homeowners with an insurmountable obstacle: pay more to rent while trying to save for a home.
Airbnb has made travel more feasible for many people by providing a way to find accommodations that cost less than traditional hotels and other lodging. It has provided property owners in destination cities with new opportunities to earn income by renting out available space to these travelers.
In the case of Airbnb, their target market is travelers who are looking for alternative lodging options to traditional hotels. More specifically, they're often looking for a more localized experience. Some tourists want to "live like a local," which is the language Airbnb uses to attract that audience to the platform.
While some may assume that the travel and hospitality industries would suffer during a recession, the reality can be more nuanced. Historically, Airbnb has demonstrated resilience during economic downturns due to its unique value proposition and flexibility.
According to the latest long-term forecast, Airbnb price will hit $150 by the middle of 2025 and then $200 by the middle of 2026. Airbnb will rise to $250 within the year of 2028, $300 in 2029, $350 in 2030 and $400 in 2033.
But over the past few years, the appeal of using Airbnb has been diminishing. Due to exorbitant cleaning fees, the stress of having to coordinate with hosts, issues upon arrival and the opportunity to stay in hotels for much less, many travelers have now sworn off the site.
As a company, Airbnb is still reaping the benefits of high interest in travel, and people are still seeking out its listings around the world. It recorded 115 million nights, tours and events booked in the second quarter, up 11% from a year ago.
The stock could have a tough year ahead, but if we think long-term about the future of this vacation rental platform, then a recovery seems inevitable. It has plenty of cash on hand to cover its operations in the near future; even if a recession were to negatively impact travel spending.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
