29/05/2026

LYFE FRIDAY | MAY 29, 2026

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Popular lodging app pivots amid crisis o Airbnb to add features such as boutique inns, car rentals, grocery delivery

A IRBNB, facing tighter local regulations on short-term home rentals, is adding boutique hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its app in a bid to transform itself into a one stop travel shop. The rollout marks the latest step in Airbnb’s push to capture more of the travel spending that currently flows to competitors such as Booking.com and Expedia. This evolution – 18 years after the company’s scrappy beginnings in San Francisco – is one of Airbnb’s answers to increasingly tough restrictions on short-term rentals in key markets, reported AFP. In December, Spain hit the company with a €65 million (RM299 million) fine over more than 65,000 non-compliant listings and Barcelona decided not to renew thousands of rental licenses when they expire in 2028. New York has banned nearly all short-term private rentals since 2023 and Paris stepped up its crackdown on illegal listings in 2026. “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,” said CEO Brian Chesky in a statement. The updated app adds grocery delivery through Instacart in more than 25 US cities, as well as airport

and train station transfers and luggage storage services in more than 160 cities worldwide. The platform will also offer car rentals, although the company has not yet named its partners. Chesky outlined the new features at a presentation at the company headquarters in San Francisco. “We know a home is not right for every type of trip, like if you’re booking last minute, you’re staying for just one night, you’re on a quick business trip or when you’re searching for an Airbnb, like in New York, and none are available... Boo,” he said, joking about the restrictions in the Big Apple. “In this case, the best option might just be... hotel! That’s right, I said it,” Chesky added, as Airbnb employees clapped. Chesky argued boutique and independent hotels account for 60% of hotel rooms around the world and his company wants to team up with them. “They want an ally, they want a platform designed just for them, so they can compete with the chains,” said Chesky. The app is also getting a range of artificial intelligence features, including a virtual support assistant available in 11 languages. Airbnb posted revenue of US$2.68 billion (RM10.6 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, up 18% from a year earlier.

Airbnb is adding boutique hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its app. – AFPPIC

Hotels strive to be found as AI models conduct travel search

WITH people increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to help plan their vacations, hotels are working to make sure that you check them out – and check in. Whether using ChatGPT or AI-enabled travel sites such as Layla.ai, it is already possible to pose search questions such as: “Calm hotel with west-facing balcony” or “Charming hotel with spa that accepts dogs”. This simple switch to plain speech searches belies major technical changes that mean hotels have to learn to become visible to AI models. “We’re in complete upheaval: Last year, 35% of French people used AI to find a hotel, a cafe or a restaurant,” said Nicolas Marette, founder of Custplace, a French company that helps firms optimise their digital presence. According to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), around 37% of travellers are already using AI-enabled online travel sites to plan and book trips. Hospitality industry players have taken notice. A quarter of hospitality firms “have an AI strategy that is starting to produce real returns across multiple organisational activities”, according to the BCG report. “What a hotel needs to do to get well referenced by search engines is not the same thing that they need to do to get referenced by AI,” said Johanna Benesty at BCG. Moreover, not all AI models “work in the same way,” she added. Plain speech, elaborate task At French hospitality group Accor, which

to provide customers with a wealth of information. Best Western France’s director Olivier Cohn said he believed “what will make the difference is our ability to answer client questions more thoroughly”. Hotels could respond to even the most detailed client questions such as “knowing if there is a power socket on the left side of the bed because they are used to sleeping on that side of the bed and charging their devices,” he said. While such questions are simple in and of themselves, current systems and staff can struggle to answer in such detail, said Cohn, whose chain counts more than 4,000 hotels throughout the world. Some hotels are already deploying AI chatbots to help answer simple guest questions, allowing staff to provide higher-value services. But winning the referencing game is not only up to the hotels themselves. BCG noted “algorithms elevate properties with comprehensive, high-trust, multisource information over those with sparse or inconsistent digital footprints”, meaning client descriptions and reviews will also be important. But just like online travel agencies (OTA) charge commissions and offer premium service for a price, AI models are already beginning to do the same. “The familiar OTA commission model will evolve into AI-era distribution fees, charged for prominence and relevance in algorithmic recommendations,” the BCG report said. – AFP

Travellers are depending more on AI to find the right hotel for them. – 123RFPIC

The switch to plain speech means big changes for hotels. “The biggest challenge is to understand vague requests like ‘I want a romantic hotel in the south’,” Maynard said. Because Accor’s systems do not currently classify properties by such attributes, the group has its work cut out. “We need to adapt our systems to take semantics into account,” said Maynard. Hyper detailed But beyond semantics, AI will allow hotels

owns dozens of chains including Pullman, Sofitel, Mercure and Ibis, have been trying for a year to understand how to make itself more relevantand be more visible, revealed the group’s AI and data science chief Nicolas Maynard. But that can be a challenge as AI users see fewer options, meaning securing a top ranking becomes even more critical. “It’s a big change: With Google, a search gives you 50 results... while if you ask ChatGPT, it will give you five” and that is it, Maynard added.