Airbnb revenue hits fastest growth in more than three years

By Daniel Okafor

Airbnb generated $4.9 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 19% from a year earlier, its fastest growth in more than three years and ahead of Expedia Group’s 12% increase and Booking Holdings’ 1% decline.

Net income rose 35% to $1.9 billion, outpacing the 19% revenue increase. The quarter marked a reversal from the 9.7% revenue growth recorded a year earlier, when CEO Brian Chesky said at Skift Global Forum that he was “not happy” with Airbnb’s growth.

Airbnb has since accelerated in almost every quarter. Its 19% growth rate exceeded Expedia’s by seven percentage points; Booking’s rate was 20 points lower, although a $1 billion accounting charge complicated that comparison. The charge tied to a possible FTC settlement over allegedly deceptive practices drove Booking’s reported decline.

What is driving the acceleration?

Nights and seats booked rose 16%, a combined measure covering homes, hotels, experiences and services. Expedia and Booking each posted 7% room-night growth, although Airbnb’s broader metric is not directly comparable with their room-night measure.

For operators, the distinction is demand versus monetization. The 16% gain in booked nights and seats shows broad activity, while 19% revenue growth shows faster top-line expansion. Without rates, category mix or a direct revenue-per-booking reconciliation, the release cannot show which lever produced that gap.

Airbnb did not point to a single factor. It said growth was “primarily driven by strong demand across all regions and continued momentum behind our product roadmap.” The work behind that statement includes:

• Search and merchandising
• Pricing and tools
• Flexible payments
• Reserve Now, Pay Later, which Airbnb says has extended booking lead times

What does this change for Airbnb?

Airbnb now lists thousands of independent and boutique hotels in 60 top destinations, up from 20 in May. About 35% of guests whose first booking is a hotel come back to book a home, meaning more than one in three hotel-first guests make a subsequent home booking.

The 35% figure does not reveal how often those guests book again or what they spend, so it signals cross-category behavior rather than proof that hotels are replacing home stays.

For hotel operators, the practical change is access to a broader distribution channel, although Airbnb disclosed no occupancy, average daily rate, commission or property-level revenue data. Car rentals sourced from Expedia’s CarTrawler now rank among Airbnb’s most popular services, adding another non-home reason to use the platform.

The clearest disclosed operating-cost change comes from AI customer support. The system runs in 50 languages and replaces a human agent for roughly two in five support issues, up from one-third in the prior quarter.

The company bears that service cost. Airbnb says automation cut support cost per booking by 17%, meaning the support cost attached to each booking is 17% lower than before. The company disclosed no total savings or staffing changes.

Airbnb also raised full-year revenue guidance to 16%-18% growth from its prior “mid-teens” forecast, a range centered on 17%. The raised outlook effectively assumes that some of the third quarter’s acceleration persists as the company scales hotel, car-rental and support operations.

The next test is whether Airbnb can sustain that 16%-18% full-year range as hotels, car rentals and automated support scale; the quarter shows early traction, but category-level economics remain undisclosed.