Brian Chesky on Boutique Hotels vs. Chains, Taking on Expedia and Booking, and Where Airbnb Has Stumbled

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky held a media roundtable at company headquarters in San Francisco this week following the company’s annual summer release event. In the wide-ranging conversation, Chesky reflected on what Airbnb learned from last year’s Experiences relaunch, previewed a new push into the creator economy, explained the company’s pivot toward boutique hotels, and laid out a 12-month window he believes Airbnb has before consumer AI arrives.

The following are his answers, edited lightly for clarity.

On What Airbnb Experiences Looks Like Now and What They Learned in 2025

“Last year’s launch was successful as a rebrand. We had a problem, which was Airbnb is a noun and a verb, and that’s a double-edged sword. It means a “home,” so we had to get people to think it means not just a home. That was successful. But when we launched, we had 100 cities, and it turned out to be too many cities to focus on. 

We said, okay, everyone, focus on Pari