Back in 2008, the company disrupted the hospitality landscape by allowing travelers to book homestays online—just like hotels. This move reshaped how people experienced travel, offering more space, local flavor, and often lower prices compared to traditional accommodations.

Fast forward to 2025, and Airbnb is now taking another bold leap. With the ambition to become a “travel super app,” Airbnb is integrating a wide array of services into its platform, making it easier than ever for users to plan, book, and elevate their travel experiences—all within a single app.

In its 2025 Summer Release, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky unveiled a significant expansion of the platform. The app will now feature 10 categories of local services that users can book across 260 countries.

Travelers—and locals—can now hire chefs, book photography sessions, enjoy massages and spa treatments, work with personal trainers, and even get professional hair, makeup, and nail services. Prepared meals and catering options are also available.

What’s particularly notable is that none of these services require a user to book a stay through Airbnb. This shift opens the door for Airbnb to attract new user segments and strengthen its foothold in the broader service economy.

“People choose hotels for their services. People choose Airbnbs for the space,” said CEO Brian Chesky. “Now, we’re giving you the best of both worlds—amazing homes with services that make them even more special.”

Airbnb has established a stringent vetting process to maintain quality and trust. Only professionals with verified licenses or certifications and an average of 10 years of experience are permitted to join the platform as service providers.

Pricing for these services starts as low as $50 in the United States, making them accessible to a wide range of customers. At the same time, the catalogue also includes premium offerings, such as Michelin-starred chefs, award-winning photographers, and celebrity fitness trainers.

Airbnb’s push into services builds on its earlier evolution. In 2016, the platform moved beyond accommodations by launching Airbnb Experiences. This feature allowed travelers to book over 500 local experiences in 12 cities, ranging from walking tours to cultural workshops hosted by locals.

In recent years, Airbnb has continued to invest in its experiential offerings. The company introduced Airbnb Original Experiences, which include exclusive events like the Megan Thee Stallion ‘Otaku Hottie Quest’. This immersive experience allows fans to engage in Stallion’s personal interests—anime, gaming, and fashion.

Some of these original experiences are available only through lucky draws, while others, such as a fashion consultation with celebrity stylist Jamie Mizrahi, come with a high-end price tag—approximately ₹51,345 per person.

In May last year, Airbnb held a lucky draw offering fans the chance to “Live like Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor.” This was the only Indian entry among the Originals lineup.

While cultural and local experiences such as heritage walks are available in India, none of the newly announced services—like chefs or spa treatments—are currently listed in the Indian market.

This is particularly noteworthy considering the size and potential of India’s short-term rental market. Valued at $135 billion, the sector is expected to grow at over 10 percent annually until 2034. According to Financial Express, the lack of sufficient hotels in India—only 2.6 per 100,000 people, compared to a global average—has fueled the growth of alternative accommodations.

Airbnb has benefited significantly from this trend. In 2024, the platform recorded a 30 percent year-on-year growth in India. Chief Business Officer Dave Stephenson has identified India as the company’s fastest-growing market and believes it could soon rank among Airbnb’s top 10 markets globally.

Despite its rapid expansion, Airbnb has not yet explored advertising as a revenue stream. CEO Brian Chesky acknowledged during a Bloomberg interview that while advertising is a large and inevitable opportunity, it is not the company’s immediate priority.

Instead, Airbnb is focused on fully developing its presence in the services and experiences market. Chesky described this as a “perishable opportunity”—a window of time that must be seized now before others move in.

By building a horizontal platform that integrates services and experiences, Airbnb is laying the groundwork for more impactful advertising and monetization strategies in the future.

This strategic expansion also targets travelers who prefer hotels for their service offerings. With more reasons to stay—and spend—Airbnb aims to increase revenue per trip and better compete with traditional hospitality brands.

But this pivot isn’t just about travelers.

Airbnb also aims to engage locals by offering them access to high-quality services and by empowering professionals to monetize their skills. According to Chesky, the most valuable untapped resource people have is not just their homes—but their time.

This positioning aligns with a global shift toward a service-based economy, where platforms that facilitate skill monetization and on-demand convenience are gaining ground.

Chesky also pointed out that the services industry still lacks a dominant platform—a kind of Amazon equivalent for services. He sees Airbnb filling that gap by creating a seamless marketplace where users can book everything from meals to makeovers.

While artificial intelligence is playing an increasing role in many tech platforms, Airbnb is taking a measured approach. The company is currently testing AI-powered customer service features but has no intention of transforming into an AI lab.

Instead, the focus remains on practical, user-first enhancements that support the company’s broader strategic goals.

“This is a very long-term bet that we’re making over the next five years,” said Chesky. “And I think this will endure across any kind of economy. It’s just good to remind people, Airbnb started during the Great Recession of 2008.”

With travel booming and the gig economy thriving, Airbnb’s latest reinvention seems well-timed—and potentially transformative.

As it integrates deeper into the services ecosystem, Airbnb is not just offering more choices to travelers—it’s creating new opportunities for professionals, enhancing convenience for locals, and reshaping how we think about travel, one service at a time.

Author: Janvi Joshi