Airbnb CEO Brian Cheskyโ vows too Accelerate Growth,Cites Disappointing Recent Performance
LAS VEGAS – Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky expressedโฃ dissatisfaction with the company’s recent growth trajectory,outlining plans for meaningful acceleration at the Skiftโฃ Global Forum conference Tuesday. While the company remains a dominant โฃforce โฃin the travel industry with a market capitalization exceeding $76 billion and over 5 million hosts, Chesky stated heโ aspires to return Airbnb to growth โขrates โexceeding 20%.
Airbnb experienced a surge โin growth duringโ the pandemic, reaching 40% in 2022. โขHowever, that figure has โคsteadily declined, falling to 18% in 2023 and 12% in 2024.โข Second quarter revenue growth, ending June 30, was reported at 13%. “I’m not happy about โwere the โgrowth rate is at the โcompany,” Chesky said. โฃ”I think Airbnb should be growingโ considerably faster. It should at least be growing in the teens, and I aspireโ toโฃ run theโ kind ofโ company that’d beโฃ growing at โคmore then 20% โone โday.”
Theโ slowdown comes as โคAirbnb invests heavily in artificial intelligence, aiming toโ becomeโ anโฃ “AI-first โapplication” โคwithin the nextโข few years.The company has already implemented AI for customer service,โ reducing human โฃinteractions by 15% sinceโ April, handlingโ tasks like reservation โcancellations andโ travel planning.โ Plans are underway to expand AI capabilities further, including advanced search functionalities within reservations. Despite this technological push, Chesky emphasized a commitment toโฃ maintaining โฃa โคhuman touch, stating, “Nobody Wants a Robotโ Answering the Door,” โreferencing the โimportance of host-guest interaction.