Airbnb has officially entered the hotel market, marking a significant strategic shift for a company once defined by spare rooms, local hosts and the promise of “living like a local”.
The move is being driven by two senior appointments aimed at accelerating Airbnb’s hotel ambitions. Jesse Stein, the company’s global head of real estate and a former hotel executive, has been promoted to the newly created role of head of hotels while retaining his existing responsibilities. At the same time, Airbnb has hired Lou Zameryka, a veteran of Booking.com, as global head of hotel enterprise and connectivity partnerships.
Together, the appointments signal Airbnb’s intent to compete more directly with the established giants of online hotel distribution, including Expedia and Trip.com, whose scale and inventory dominate the global accommodation market.
Industry observers say the move would have been almost unthinkable a decade ago, when Airbnb positioned itself as an alternative to traditional hotels rather than a rival.
Kate Allen, owner of Finest Stays, believes the shift risks diluting Airbnb’s original appeal. “Commercially, the pressure is obvious,” she says. “The scale of Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com would make any CEO twitchy. Brian Chesky needs growth, and at this level that usually means more inventory, even if it chips away at what once made Airbnb special.”
Allen argues that Airbnb’s defining USP was always rooted in homes and hosts rather than rooms and rates. “The move seriously muddies Airbnb’s brand. Its USP was a genuine sense of place. But this shift feels inevitable,” she adds, suggesting that independent operators could benefit if Airbnb becomes more generic.
Similar concerns are raised by Beccy Dickson, co-founder of Branded Biophilia, who questions whether the move represents innovation or simply necessity. “This doesn’t feel like innovation. It feels like inevitability,” she says. “When Airbnb started, it wasn’t about scale. It was about feel, homes, texture, and arriving somewhere that lets you settle rather than perform.”
Dickson is sceptical that Airbnb can win hotel customers away from established platforms. “If I want a hotel, I’ll use a platform built for hotels,” she says. “Once you sell both homes and hotels, the signal blurs. In trying to be everything to everyone, Airbnb risks becoming efficient but emotionally flat, and right now, flat is exactly what people are trying to get away from.”
Others take a more pragmatic view. Laura Purkess, personal finance expert at Investing Insiders, says diversification may be unavoidable in the current travel economy. “A unique USP sounds good on paper, but in a competitive market like tourism it isn’t always sustainable,” she explains. “Hotels remain in high demand, and there is potentially more money to be made there.”
Purkess also points to structural limits in Airbnb’s original model. “Airbnb relies on hosts to meet demand. If supply tightens, there’s little room to scale. By opening up to hotels, Airbnb gains access to a vast new pool of accommodation,” she says, while acknowledging the risk of becoming “just another Booking.com-type website”.
For business travellers in particular, the move could be significant. Greater hotel inventory on Airbnb may bring more choice and flexibility, but it also raises questions about whether the platform can maintain a clear identity as it moves closer to the mainstream of global travel distribution.
What is clear is that Airbnb’s evolution is entering a new phase. Once the disruptor of the hotel industry, it is now positioning itself squarely within it — a shift many believe was only a matter of time.