Airbnb to include more boutique hotels in NYC

After a regulatory crackdown caused a drop in New York City listings, Airbnb is again turning to boutique hotels to bridge the gap

During Airbnb's recent earnings call, CEO Brian Chesky acknowledged the impact of NYC regulations. Despite a reduction in inventory, he highlighted continued high demand for New York searches. Chesky sees potential in supplementing the previous home-based offerings with boutique hotels to address the changing landscape.

Key takeaways

• Chesky mentioned many boutique hotels are on HotelTonight, acquired by Airbnb in 2019. He sees the potential to leverage HotelTonight's relationships to bring these hotels onto Airbnb;
• After acquiring HotelTonight, Airbnb initially added more boutique hotels. However, in 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the company shifted focus back to its core business, putting the boutique hotel strategy on hold;
• He emphasized that Airbnb's overall supply should not be exclusively perceived as homes. "We've included hotels; our emphasis has been on homes as part of a focused strategy."

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