Brian Chesky's Contrarian Approach to Airbnb Experiences: 'We’ve Now Started to Crack Locals'

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Skift Brian Chesky's Contrarian Approach to Airbnb Experiences: 'We’ve Now Started to Crack Locals'

What It Says

Following several false starts since its initial launch over a decade ago, Airbnb has revamped its Experiences strategy. Rather than scaling globally all at once, CEO Brian Chesky revealed at the Skift Global Forum 2026 that the company focused on perfecting a single market: Paris.

This hyper-local approach has resulted in 6x year-over-year growth in Paris, driven by an unexpected demographic: local residents booking activities in their own city. Airbnb is now preparing to export this playbook to New York and other major cities. This strategy stands in stark contrast to competitors like Viator and GetYourGuide, which focus almost exclusively on high-spending tourists, as well as past failed initiatives like Accor Local.

Why It Matters

For years, the experiences sector has operated under the assumption that marketing activities to locals is a losing battle due to high acquisition costs, price sensitivity, and lack of booking urgency. If Airbnb successfully cracks the local market, it unlocks a massive, recurring revenue stream that is completely decoupled from seasonal travel trends. For short-term rental (STR) operators, this shift could transform Airbnb from a travel-only OTA into a daily-use lifestyle platform, altering how hosts cross-promote local activities to guests.

Useful Signals

• 6x YoY Growth: Airbnb's concentrated playbook in Paris is delivering rapid growth by capturing local demand.
• Supply Expansion: Airbnb increased its experiences inventory by nearly 80% year-over-year in Q2.
• Playbook Replication: New York is the next target city for Airbnb's localized experiences rollout, with plans to eventually scale to 1,000 cities.
• Low Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Industry experts note Airbnb’s strong brand equity gives it a unique advantage in testing local experiences without the prohibitive marketing spend that sank previous industry attempts.

STR Tech Report Take

Airbnb's pivot to targeting locals with experiences is a high-stakes experiment. While major tech platforms and hotel brands have historically failed to monetize local leisure activities, Airbnb’s massive organic traffic gives it a distinct advantage.

For STR technology vendors and property managers, a successful Experiences platform creates new integration opportunities. Property management systems (PMS) and guest experience apps should prepare for deeper API integrations with Airbnb Experiences. If locals and travelers alike begin using Airbnb as a primary discovery engine for activities, hosts who curate and co-host these experiences stand to gain a powerful secondary revenue stream directly tied to the platform's ecosystem.

Original Source

Brian Chesky's Contrarian Approach to Airbnb Experiences: 'We’ve Now Started to Crack Locals'