Brian Chesky travel tips

On the back of its November acquisition of GamePlanner.AI, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said his company can create a new AI interface, and that it will help transform Airbnb into a “cross-vertical company” like Amazon or Apple.

Travelers may choose an Airbnb over a hotel for a number of reasons, but let’s face it: They’ll often go for the cheaper option.

Airbnb’s departing Global Head of Hosting Catherine Powell will receive her current base salary and her outstanding equity awards will continue to vest as she stays on in an advisory role through June 30, 2024.

Young budget tourists are putting off trips to New York City. Maybe it’s because they are finding it harder to find affordable rooms.

Booking Holdings Chief Financial Officer David Goulden said this week that the flagship Booking.com brand launched its short-term rental business as a supplement to hotels “15-plus years” ago, which is roughly around the time Airbnb got going in San Francisco.

As has been his habit about product changes, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted about updates the company is making to this year’s summer release announced in May.

Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, who left his full-time role at the company a year ago, has sold more than $1.37 billion worth of his Class A shares since that time, including more than $1 billion so far in 2023, according to regulatory filings, Bloomberg reported. Gebbia still chairs the non-profit Airbnb.org, but more importantly, he retains the bulk — but not all — of his Class B shares, which now give him 19.8% of Airbnb’s voting power. Together with his two other co-founders, CEO Brian Chesky (30.6%) and Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk (26.9%), they control 77.3% of Airbnb’s voting power.

Vrbo reversed its longstanding guest-refund policy for the wildfires in Maui – for the first time, guests would be entitled to full refunds. But that won’t be the case with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hilary, which this week ripped through Baja California, Mexico, and then turned to Southern California and elsewhere in the U.S. Southwest.

Happy Tuesday, folks! We’re back after last week’s 10th annual Skift Global Forum in New York City. It was quite the event: Notable speakers for me were Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Salamander Hotels CEO Sheila Johnson, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Good morning, readers. I hope you’re having an easy Thursday so far. I don’t know about you, but I am loving the new look of this newsletter, so much so that I sent myself multiple test emails this morning.

Good morning, readers! I hope you’re have your reading glasses on, this is a long one.

With critics questioning Airbnb’s growth momentum, Airbnb announced Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson will become chief business officer, a newly created position, and VP of Finance Ellie Mertz will become CFO March 1.

After the sudden ousting last week, the OpenAI board has now agreed “in principle” for Altman to return as CEO. A new board is being instituted and will include former Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo and the former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor as the chair.

Generative artificial intelligence has been the topic of 2023, and companies have taken note with bigwigs speaking openly about plans to integrate the technology.

Airbnb announced today that it has appointed former White House chief of staff and a prominent figure in Democratic circles Ron Klain as its chief legal officer. A close Biden aide, Klain will begin his role at the company starting January 1.

From his posts and re-posts on X, it’s clear that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is highly supportive of Sam Altman, the ousted CEO of OpenAI, and now-former board Chairman Greg Brockman, and Chesky seems to be in-the-know about some of the maneuverings behind the scenes.

Is Airbnb leaving money on the table, and could it generate more revenue by hiking host fees and introducing sponsored listings?

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, November 15. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Airbnb said Tuesday that it has acquired an AI company founded by a creator of Siri. The company, called GamePlanner.AI, is a 12-person AI company that has been developing outside of the public eye since it was founded.

Demand for unique experiences is an unstoppable trend that will continue to shape how travel businesses operate and engage with their customers in 2024 and beyond.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says 2023 marks the end of the company’s focus on perfecting its core business. He’s spent the past two years gathering feedback from hosts and guests to get the basic product right. Now, he says he’s ready to move forward and launch new things.