Airbnb is expanding its hotel offerings and adding car rentals to its app
As cities crack down on listings, the homestay platform is attempting to become an “everything app” for travel.
The 2026 World Cup, set to kick off in under two weeks, might not just be a defining moment for host nations, qualifying countries, and Madonna; it may also present a turning point for Airbnb, the tournament’s official Fan Accommodation partner.
Earlier this month, Airbnb put out a statement saying it expects this year’s competition to be its “biggest-ever event,” citing over 100,000 new homes listed in host cities like Philadelphia and Mexico City since October 2025. Even so, per a recent WSJ article, some hosts have found their properties piquing little interest from soccer fans as hotels have slashed prices.
Enter Airbnb’s summer release, published Wednesday, outlining plans for the app to feature hotel offerings as a distinct category, as well as adding car rentals, grocery delivery, airport pickup, and a plethora of AI tools. While the first of those moves might feel like a stark reversal for a brand whose initial slogan was “Forget hotels,” Airbnb has actually featured hotels for years. Now, it will integrate thousands more (but no big chains), with a price-match guarantee and 15% Airbnb credit for booking.
Everything, everywhere, all-in-one
Alongside its other travel-adjacent offerings, the stronger pivot into hotel listings puts Airbnb another step closer to becoming “the everything app for traveling and living,” according to CEO Brian Chesky in an interview with the WSJ.
For its most recent quarter, Airbnb reported “healthy” demand, though not enough to fully reverse the bookings slowdown the company has seen since the pandemic. Still, by continuing its aggressive expansion into Services and Experiences, Airbnb might hope that providing add-on options for those who are booking short-term stays might help drive more revenue than addressing empty rooms.
Examining occupancy data from Inside Airbnb across major global cities, a significant portion of listings in each — about half in London (~47K), 40% in Paris (~26K), and 36% in Amsterdam (~3.7K) — were completely unoccupied for the last 12 months at the time of time of writing.
Across the Atlantic, there’s also a large proportion of long-term Airbnb rentals in US cities with stricter Airbnb laws, such as San Francisco, where you can only rent out your primary residence, and New York (43% of listings occupied for over 241 nights), where there’s been a near-total ban on short-term private rentals since 2023.
As pressure from local governments like Barcelona’s weighs on the home-rental platform’s key offering, expanding into different business lines for existing users could be the best way for Airbnb to keep driving growth.
