Key Points

• Airbnb relaunched its Experiences and introduced new Services, showing promising early results with 60,000 host applications.
• The company reported strong Q2 financials, including 13% revenue growth (to $13.1 billion) and a 16% rise in net income, outpacing expectations.
• AI-powered customer service has been expanded to all U.S. users, reducing the need for human agents by 15%, with plans for further global rollout.

Summary

Airbnb reported strong second-quarter financial results, highlighted by the positive early performance of its relaunched Experiences and new Services segment, which allow guests to book additional amenities. The company saw a 7% year-over-year increase in nights and seats booked, significant revenue and net income growth, and notable international expansion, particularly in markets like Japan. Additionally, Airbnb expanded AI-powered customer service to all U.S. users, reducing human support needs, with global rollout planned.

Trivago issued its second quarter results Wednesday and we interviewed CEO Johannes Thomas via Zoom after the earnings call to learn why it upped its stake to 100% in hotel rate aggregator Holisto for $32 million.

We also asked about Trivago’s new AI filters, its most recent ad campaign, and whether Trivago had “turned the tide.” (The answer: “The tide is not moving in the wrong direction right now.”)

Why is the Holisto deal important? Because the achilles heel of price comparison sites like Trivago, Kayak, Skyscanner and Google Hotels is that travelers seldom book right on their platforms.

Thomas told us during the interview that it acquired all of Holisto faster than anticipated because it handles Trivago Book & Go. A pilot program with partners during the second quarter showed significant increases in actual travel booking on the Trivago platform.

With domestic U.S. demand softening – and a new, slightly lower earnings forecast – Choice Hotels executives were eager on Wednesday to talk up their push to diversify internationally and how the company is becoming less dependent on U.S. market cycles.

Highlights from the second-quarter earnings call:

Weak second quarter and new forecast: The company now expects U.S. revenue per available room (RevPAR) to land between a decline of 3% and flat for 2025. The prior forecast was for between a decline of 1% and a gain of 1%.

The company attributed the revision to a “changing macroeconomic backdrop.”

Domestic RevPAR fell 2.9% year-over-year, partly because of the timing of Easter and a tough comparison with a surge in eclipse-related travel a year ago.

“The two headwinds the whole industry is experiencing are international inbound and government travel. Those a