(Credit: Joao Luiz Bulcao / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
You may soon be able to book traditional hotel rooms on Airbnb, following a recent pivot by the company, which will put it in direct competition with hospitality giants like Expedia and Booking.com.
The San Francisco-based firm told The Financial Times that it has now launched a pilot scheme in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Madrid, allowing users to book rooms in boutique hotels, instead of its usual fare of private residences.
Jesse Stein, Airbnb’s new head of hotels, told the FT that her company could be offering a “very competitive commission structure” for its hotel bookings "relative to the other players in the space." Stein also highlighted her company is trying to capture the business traveller market, who she claims value the consistency that hotels provide compared to private apartments.
This isn't the first time we’ve seen Airbnb clearly attempt to significantly broaden its product offering in less than a year, to become more of an all-in-one travel service. Back in May 2025, Airbnb began offering services like private chefs, personal trainers, and hairstylists, and experiences like cooking classes or tours from local guides.
The pivot comes as Airbnb’s traditional model has attracted clampdowns all over the world, as both local governments and campaigners have accused it of having a detrimental impact on local property markets.
Numerous cities all over the world have restricted Airbnb rentals in some form, with American cities like New York City and Honolulu instituting strict caps on short stays. Meanwhile, European travel hotspots like Amsterdam and Florence have banned new Airbnb rentals entirely in some historic and central areas of the city. Protestors took to the streets in the Spanish city of Barcelona in 2025, with some of their signs decrying the negative impact of Airbnb on their city, despite its local government cracking down on short-term rentals in recent years.