Listings tips

Airbnb execs have used the phrase “expanding beyond the core” to mean launching new products and services for guests and hosts, and also their hope to lift growth beyond the company’s main five markets: The U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and France.

More than four years after Airbnb pledged to verify all of its listings, the company said Monday it will soon have nearly 1.5 million verified listings, and that badges will be pinned to listings that have completed the process.

Airbnb has started to verify listings in five of its top global markets, but the process is much simpler for professional hosts than those with individual listings, according to requirements viewed by Skift.

One potential issue with Airbnb’s growth plans has been whether it could boost its ranks of hosts and listings enough to meet the demand from guests around the world.

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.

Last week, Airbnb removed 2,233 New York based listings from its site in its latest attempt to appease New York City legislators. Airbnb has been in the news recently for fighting legal battles in its hometown of San Francisco, and New York is another major listings city for the company.