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CEO Brian Chesky tells investors he wants to accelerate growth in the Netherlands and Belgium. Markets have not received enough attention. Artificial intelligence is also the big incantatory magic word at his Airbnb.

Switzerland is also on a roll to tackle in the coming months. In doing so, Chesky is applying the model that has already proven itself in the big countries of Germany, Brazil and South Korea in recent quarters. And after the small European countries, Airbnb is tackling another three to four and then another handful.

The CEO explained his new strategy late Wednesday night in a phone interview with financial analysts(Pdf). That took place in the aftermath of the release of quarterly figures. Those showed revenue growth of 17 percent to 2.2 billion euros. The number of overnight stays rose 18 percent to 7.7 million.

About the plans in the Netherlands and Belgium, he said, "We are installing a small team per country. That should make sure they activate a fullfunnel marketing plan. If necessary, they adapt our product to the requirements of the local market. Then we run down a list: What are the biggest opportunities? What capabilities do we have for that and do we address that."

Chesky continues: "But this is just one part of the larger strategy. At Airbnb, we've always believed that we want to offer more than just a place to sleep. Now it's time to expand beyond our core business and reinvent Airbnb."

He talks about a "platform shift" through the application of artificial intelligence. Details the top executive does not give, but in broad terms it amounts to a new user interface. He makes the comparison to a personal butler through an interface that adapts to the situation of the moment. That should change Airbnb from a vertically focused company, helping rent out places to sleep, to horizontally oriented. Referring to Amazon and Apple "The very big tech companies have become horizontal platforms."

To this end, Airbnb acquired an AI company from the co-founder of Siri, GamePlanner.AI for $200 million in November 2023.
Photo: puuikibeach (cc)

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