What Airbnb’s 2025 summer release means for hosts

TL;DR: Airbnb just launched services (in-home chefs, massage, photography) and reimagined experiences alongside a completely rebuilt app. For property managers, this signals a shift toward hospitality-first competition and a growing need to differentiate on guest experience, not just price.

Airbnb’s May 2025 release is the company’s biggest platform change since its founding. Guests can now book in-home chefs, personal trainers, massages, and local experiences directly in the app — no separate platforms, no coordination headaches. The messaging is clear: Airbnb wants to compete with hotels on service, not just space.

For property managers running five, fifty, or five hundred listings, this changes the competitive landscape. Here’s what matters.

1. Airbnb is no longer just a booking channel

The new app bundles homes, services, and experiences into a single travel platform. Guests scrolling for a cabin in Asheville will also see curated cooking classes and spa treatments. Airbnb’s new “Trips” tab builds a day-by-day itinerary that includes check-in details alongside booked activities.

This integration means guests increasingly expect a full-service travel experience — not just a clean unit and accurate listing photos. The bar is rising.

2. Services are vetted, but they’re not yours

Airbnb Services launches with 10 categories across 260 cities: chefs, photography, massage, spa treatments, personal training, hair, makeup, nails, prepared meals, and catering. Hosts average 10 years of experience, complete identity verification, and submit licenses.

Here’s the catch: these services aren’t connected to your property. Guests book them independently. If a guest at your listing hires an Airbnb chef and has a great meal, that experience builds Airbnb’s brand — not yours.

Property managers who want to control the guest experience need their own upsell strategy. That might mean partnerships with local vendors, concierge services built into automated messaging, or direct booking websites where you control the entire relationship.

3. Experiences got a celebrity upgrade

The reimagined Airbnb Experiences program launches in 650 cities, featuring local hosts and a new tier called “Airbnb Originals.” Think: pastry classes with Michelin-trained chefs, Lucha libre training with professional wrestlers, and yes — celebrity partnerships. Sabrina Carpenter is doing glam sessions. Patrick Mahomes is teaching spiral throws.

The practical takeaway? Airbnb is investing heavily in making the platform sticky beyond accommodations. Guests who book experiences through Airbnb have more reasons to stay in the ecosystem — and fewer reasons to book direct with you next time.

4. The app redesign favors one-stop shoppers

Airbnb rebuilt its tech stack from scratch. The new app surfaces personalized recommendations based on where you’re staying and who you’re with. After booking a home, guests see suggested services and experiences without leaving the app.

For property managers, this is a double-edged sword. More engaged guests might mean higher satisfaction scores. But it also means Airbnb controls more of the guest journey than ever before — and captures more of the value chain.

5. Small hosts face a scale question

Airbnb’s announcement highlights services “at nearly every price” with entry offerings under $50. That democratizes access for guests. But for hosts, competing in a market where guests expect hotel-like amenities means either partnering, automating, or accepting that some travelers will choose full-service alternatives.

The property managers who thrive in this environment are the ones who can offer a differentiated guest experience while keeping operations tight. That means automation for the predictable stuff — guest messaging, review requests, turnover coordination — so you have bandwidth for the high-touch moments that actually build loyalty.

What this means for your tech stack

Airbnb’s platform expansion underscores a broader truth: the short-term rental market is maturing. Guests expect more. OTAs are capturing more of the travel experience. And property managers need systems that can handle complexity across channels — not just Airbnb, but Vrbo, Booking.com, and direct bookings too.

That’s where having the right foundation matters. Guesty connects to every major OTA from a single dashboard — update availability once, push everywhere. Automated workflows handle guest messaging, review requests, and task assignments without manual intervention. A unified inbox keeps every conversation in one place, whether the guest booked through Airbnb, Vrbo, or your direct site.

But the real opportunity isn’t just efficiency. It’s using that operational leverage to build guest relationships that outlast any single platform. With Guesty’s direct booking website tools, you capture guests outside OTA ecosystems entirely. Automated pre-arrival messages can include your own upsells — early check-in, local recommendations, partner services — before Airbnb’s app suggests theirs.

Whether you’re managing five listings or five hundred, Guesty scales with you — from Guesty Lite for smaller portfolios, to Guesty Pro for operators ready to grow. The platform handles the complexity so you can focus on the hospitality that keeps guests coming back direct.

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