What is the ultimate ambition for ancillary products – attach rates or full-service OTA? Does the acquisition of CarTrawler by a competitor impact Airbnb's M&A strategy?

Airbnb envisions three phases: homes for travelers (current), a one-stop shop for travel (next 1-1.5 years, enabling full trip planning), and eventually beyond travel, enabled by AI. The CarTrawler acquisition does not impact M&A strategy; Airbnb's primary focus is organic growth, with M&A being opportunistic. “you will absolutely be able to get to Airbnb with a broad travel intent, like I like to travel my family to somewhere in Europe. Can you recommend where I should travel? Can you put my whole trip together? And absolutely, Airbnb will be able to do that.”

Provide more color on hotel conversion rate improvements and the scale of the opportunity. How are AI search tests progressing, and is it a gating factor for an ad product?

Hotels currently represent a single-digit percentage of nights booked but are growing three times faster than homes. AI search tests are beginning this month for a small percentage of traffic, with broader expansion planned over the year. It will initially be an opt-in toggle to allow customers to adapt, with expectations for much higher conversion rates across the entire booking journey. “hotels, that segment is currently growing about 3x as quickly as homes.”

Is the single service fee being rolled out to all hosts or primarily professional property managers? Are Experiences contributing significantly to overall Nights and Seats Booked?

The single service fee, initially for API-connected hosts, is being rolled out to the majority of remaining hosts, with completion expected by year-end. Experiences are growing quickly but from a small base, representing a multi-year horizon for significant contribution to overall Nights and Seats Booked, rather than a near-term driver. “we anticipate by year-end, our entire supply base will be on that single service fee.”

ABNB

Airbnb (ABNB) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Q: How is the hotel initiative progressing, particularly in cities with and without regulatory restrictions, and what are the conversion rate improvements?

The hotel initiative is exceeding expectations, attracting significant interest from hotels due to Airbnb's traffic, young audience, and favorable take rate. Strength is observed in both supply-constrained and non-supply-constrained markets. Hotels are bringing new guests, with 35% of first-time hotel bookers returning to book a home, demonstrating a synergistic effect. “the hotel initiative is going significantly better than I expected, and I had high expectations.”

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Consumer Discretionary· Aug 6, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Airbnb Q2 FY26 — AI-Driven Momentum and Raised Full-Year Guidance

Airbnb delivered a strong Q2 FY26, exceeding expectations across key metrics, driven by accelerated product development through AI and strategic initiatives like the successful hotel expansion. The company is seeing broad-based momentum, leading to raised full-year guidance, reflecting confidence in its AI-native approach and compounding improvements across its platform.

Highlights

Revenue grew 17% year-over-year to $3.6 billion, exceeding the high end of outlook.
Gross Booking Value (GBV) grew 16% year-over-year to $27.2 billion.
Nights and Seats Booked grew 10% year-over-year, accelerating from Q1.
First-time booker growth accelerated to 11%, the highest growth rate in 4 years, with Gen Z as the fastest-growing cohort.
Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded over 100 basis points year-over-year to 35%, driven by strong revenue growth and cost efficiencies.

Concerns

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, though its impact was less than anticipated, remains a factor.
Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be down slightly in Q3 compared to Q3 2025 due to the timing of investments.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Q3 Revenue	$4.69B to $4.77B high materiality	Q3 · FY26	High
Q3 Gross Booking Value (GBV) Growth	mid-teens medium materiality	Q3 · FY26	High
Q3 Adjusted EBITDA Margin	down slightly compared to Q3 2025 medium materiality	Q3 · FY26	Medium
Full-year Revenue Growth	at least mid-teens high materiality	FY26	High
Full-year Adjusted EBITDA Margin	at least 35.5% high materiality	FY26	High
Full-year Implied Take Rate	relatively flat compared to 2025 medium materiality	FY26	Medium

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
North America Strong growth in Nights and Seats Booked. Nights and Seats Booked growth: high single-digit	—	high single-digit	—	—
Europe Marking a steady recovery from Middle East-related headwinds in Q1. Nights and Seats Booked growth: high single-digit	—	high single-digit	—	—
Latin America Strong growth in Nights and Seats Booked. Nights and Seats Booked growth: approximately 20%	—	approximately 20%	—	—
Asia Pacific Strong growth in Nights and Seats Booked. Nights and Seats Booked growth: high teens	—	high teens	—	—
Core Markets (U.S., France, U.K., Australia) All accelerated in growth in Q2.	—	accelerated growth	—	—
Expansion Markets Outpacing core markets in net nights booked growth. Net nights booked growth: about twice as fast as core markets	—	about twice as fast	—	—

ABNB operating KPIs by quarter

ABNB operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI	Mar 2025 Q1 FY25	Sep 2025 Q3 FY25	Dec 2025 Q4 FY25	Mar 2026 Q1 FY26	This call Jun 2026 Q2 FY26	Change vs prior quarter
Gross bookings	<$25B In Q1, guests on Airbnb spent nearly $25 billion. Source: earnings call transcript	$22.9B Gross booking value grew 14% year-over-year to $22.9 billion, driven by strong growth in both bookings and price. Source: earnings call transcript	$20.4B Gross booking value grew 16% year-over-year to $20.4 billion. Source: earnings call transcript	$29B Gross booking value grew 19% year-over-year to $29 billion, representing consistent sequential acceleration for the last 4 quarters, driven by both strong growth in nights and ADR. Source: earnings call transcript	$27.2B Gross booking value grew 16% year-over-year to $27.2 billion, and Nights and Seats Booked grew 10% year-over-year, accelerating from Q1. Source: earnings call transcript	-6.2%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline
AI-generated listing highlights	launch	Q2 FY26
AI-powered review highlights	launch	Q2 FY26
AI home comparison	roadmap	later this year
AI voice support	roadmap	later this year
Airbnb Services expansion (grocery delivery, car rentals, airport pickups, luggage storage)	expansion	May 2026
Resort passes	launch	recently introduced
Expanded accommodations business (boutique and independent hotels)	expansion	Q2 FY26
Single service fee broader rollout	update	by year-end

Deals & partnerships

CarTrawler Car rental partnership

CarTrawler, Airbnb's car rental partner, was acquired by a competitor (Expedia), but Airbnb expects the partnership to continue.

Risks & headwinds

Conflict in the Middle East Q2 FY26, Q3 FY26

impact was less than anticipated

Mitigation:Not assuming any significant impact in Q3.

AI inference cost

not cheap

Mitigation:Cost is de minimis relative to the ROI of Airbnb's business model; increased conversion rate outweighs inference cost.

Headcount growth over time

not needed at levels of the past

Mitigation:AI is enabling more output and speed from the existing workforce, creating efficiencies.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Q3 Revenue Growth

Q3 FY26

Current 17% YoY (Q2 FY26)

Target 15-17% YoY growth

Why it matters

Verifies if the accelerated momentum and AI-driven improvements translate into guided top-line growth.

Specifically, in Q3, we expect to generate revenue of $4.69 billion to $4.77 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 15% to 17%.

Find out whether ABNB delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

How is the hotel initiative progressing, particularly in cities with and without regulatory restrictions, and what are the conversion rate improvements?

The hotel initiative is exceeding expectations, attracting significant interest from hotels due to Airbnb's traffic, young audience, and favorable take rate. Strength is observed in both supply-constrained and non-supply-constrained markets. Hotels are bringing new guests, with 35% of first-time hotel bookers returning to book a home, demonstrating a synergistic effect.

“the hotel initiative is going significantly better than I expected, and I had high expectations.”

asked by Justin Post · answered by Brian Chesky

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

AI-Native Transformation and Accelerated Product Development

Airbnb has fundamentally rebuilt itself as an AI-native company, leading to significant acceleration in product development. The time from concept to launch has been reduced by as much as 60%, and the number of features and improvements shipped increased by nearly 80% year-over-year in the first half of 2026.

This AI-driven efficiency extends to customer support, where the AI assistant resolves nearly 45% of issues without human agents, contributing to a 16% year-over-year decline in customer support cost per booking.

Enhanced Guest Experience and Conversion

AI is being leveraged to improve the guest journey, from search and discovery to checkout. New features include AI-generated listing highlights and review highlights, with AI home comparison planned for later this year. Streamlined sign-up, login, and expanded 'Reserve Now, Pay Later' options are reducing friction and converting more traffic into bookings.

These improvements are driving an acceleration in first-time bookers, reaching the highest growth rate in four years.

Empowering Hosts with AI and Simplified Fees

AI tools are helping hosts set competitive prices and gain actionable insights to improve their listings and earning potential. Airbnb is rolling out a new AI-powered pricing model that considers various data sources, aiming to be more dynamic and effective than traditional methods.

The company is also expanding the single service fee to the majority of its hosts by year-end, which has already helped API hosts price more competitively and increased price transparency for guests.

Successful Hotel Initiative and Synergistic Growth

The hotel initiative is performing significantly better than expected, attracting substantial interest from hotels due to Airbnb's high traffic, young audience, and favorable take rate. Hotels are proving to be accretive to the platform, bringing new guests to Airbnb, with approximately 35% of first-time hotel bookers returning to book a home.

Hotel nights are currently growing about three times faster than the homes business, indicating significant future growth potential.

Expansion into Services and Experiences

Airbnb has expanded its offerings into various services, including grocery delivery, car rentals, airport pickups, and luggage storage, with new services being developed much faster than previous ones. The company also added 1,000 new Experiences in Q2, increasing supply by nearly 80% year-over-year, and is seeing accelerating bookings.

While services and experiences are smaller parts of the business, they are viewed as multi-year growth horizons that enhance the overall platform value.

Strategic Event Partnerships

Airbnb's event strategy, exemplified by partnerships with events like the World Cup, Olympics, and Tour de France, is strengthening the brand and driving both supply and demand. These major events introduce millions of people to Airbnb, encouraging new bookings and host listings.

For instance, over 150,000 homes were listed for the first time during the World Cup, creating new economic opportunities for locals and benefiting the business long after the events conclude.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.