Airbnb CEO: Services could ‘easily be a multi-billion dollar business’

The chief executive of Airbnb has said each of its newly-launched services, ranging from chefs to masseuses, could “easily be a multi-billion dollar business”.

The short-term rental platform launched Airbnb Services in May, positioning it as a rival to hotel room service, gyms and spas.

It currently offers 10 different services, including photography, personal training, hair and chefs, across 260 cities.

During a 2025 Q2 earnings call last week, chief executive Brian Chesky described the programme as the company’s “biggest launch to date”.

He said: “Over 60,000 people have submitted applications to host services or experiences. We’re really excited by the momentum. It’s too early, but we believe that services and experiences can become sizable businesses for Airbnb.

“Services is essentially 10 different businesses. Every category of services is kind of like a different business. Photography is different  than chef and masseuses. I think each of these could easily be a multi-billion dollar business. There is no Amazon for services. Not to say we will become that, but there’s a lot of opportunity there.”

Chesky stressed there has been strong local demand for services, with approximately 10% of bookings coming from residents in their own cities.

“Think about all the people that would let the chefs come to their home that aren’t travelling, or people that want a massage at home that aren’t travelling. I think there’s a huge opportunity here, so we’re going to be looking at a tax rate in key markets and also the amount of locals that are booking as well,” he said.

Airbnb is targeting its services programme across “a few key markets”, such as Los Angeles, with the aim of building out a catalogue and “really increasing the attach rate” globally.

Chesky also revealed plans to move “significantly more aggressively into hotels” as a way of supporting Airbnb homes in its top-performing markets.

He said the business has spent “a lot of time” looking at hotels, especially independent, bed and breakfast style properties in Europe that are searching for “high-income, American, young travellers”.

“We think that there’s going to be a lot more to do with hotels on Airbnb. Our take rate is very competitive… A huge percent of hotels in Europe are independent and one of the things I said is they really want incremental travellers. They have another booking channel, but they would love to have high-income, American, young travellers… In our top markets, especially during high season, people often don’t find a home. We think hotels would be a great supplement and so I think there’s a huge amount of growth there.”

In its Q2 results, Airbnb posted 134 million nights and seats (a new metric including the number of nights booked for days, as well as the total number of seats booked for both services and experiences), up 7% year over year.  

The business also generated $1b (£737m) of adjusted EBITDA, representing a 34% margin, up from 32.5% last year.

Airbnb was founded in in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk as Air Bed and Breakfast. It now operates in excess of 8 million listings across more than 220 countries and regions.