Airbnb has added car rentals, grocery delivery, airport pick-ups, luggage storage, boutique hotels and new app tools to its platform. The expansion also includes exclusive FIFA World Cup 2026 experiences.
The move extends Airbnb's push beyond short-term home rentals into a broader travel marketplace. New services and accommodation options are rolling out in selected countries, while some app features and car rentals will arrive later in the winter season.
The latest additions cover practical parts of a trip that travellers often arrange outside the platform. Grocery delivery is available in more than 25 US cities through Instacart, while airport pick-ups are offered in more than 160 cities worldwide through Welcome Pickups.
Luggage storage is available through Bounce, giving users access to more than 15,000 locations in 175 cities. Car rentals will also be added through a partner, allowing users to find vehicles near their accommodation within the Airbnb app.
Airbnb is also broadening its accommodation offering by adding thousands of boutique and independent hotels. Hotels are being introduced in 20 destinations, including New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome and Singapore.
These properties will sit alongside Airbnb's existing homes business, giving users more options in city neighbourhoods where independent hotels already have a presence. Airbnb is also introducing a price-match offer for eligible hotels and a credit offer for some hotel bookings.
App changes
Alongside the new travel services, Airbnb has redesigned its app homepage and added several AI-based tools for search, trip planning and customer support. One feature turns guest reviews into shorter summaries for each listing, while another compares saved homes and produces a brief overview of their differences.
A shared itinerary tool is also being added, allowing groups to organise reservations and nearby venues in one place. Another feature, called Connections and Travel Map, lets users see places visited by friends and family on Airbnb, along with bookings and reviews they have chosen to share.
Airbnb's AI customer support assistant is now available worldwide in 11 languages. Voice support is due to be added later.
Experiences push
Airbnb is also expanding its Experiences business, which it reintroduced as part of a broader move beyond accommodation. It is adding thousands more activities led by local hosts, with a focus on landmarks, food culture and events.
That includes more than 3,000 landmark experiences and more than 2,500 food-related experiences. Airbnb has also secured a FIFA World Cup 2026 tie-in, offering bookable activities in six host cities.
Examples include a watch party in Los Angeles with former US players Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, and a football session with Javier Mascherano. The World Cup link gives Airbnb a high-profile events product that could help draw travellers to its platform for activities as well as places to stay.
The broader strategy reflects Airbnb's long-running effort to capture a larger share of travel spending from existing users. Rather than relying only on accommodation bookings, it is trying to become a single point of purchase for different parts of a journey, from arrival transport to meals, local activities and hotels.
It also puts Airbnb in more direct competition with online travel groups that already combine accommodation, transport and in-destination products. Hotel booking platforms, ride-booking services and specialist travel activity companies could all face pressure if users keep more of their travel planning inside one app.
Brian Chesky, co-founder and chief executive of Airbnb, set out that ambition in a statement accompanying the launch. "Travel shouldn't just be convenient. It should be meaningful. The best trips help you explore, learn and come home a little different than when you left. That's what we're building at Airbnb. And this winter, we're giving people even more ways to do it-from incredible places to stay and boutique hotels that feel like Airbnb, to unforgettable World Cup experiences and services that make your trip easier," he said.
Airbnb said guests have been using Airbnb Experiences and Services in growing numbers since those offers were expanded last year, and cited an average rating of 4.93 out of 5 stars for experiences. The platform also now holds more than one billion guest and host reviews, which are being used to support the new review summary tools in the app.