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Airbnb launched natural language search on Wednesday, something rival Vrbo debuted in May.

Meanwhile, Vrbo doubled its commissions and placed the fee burden on hosts rather than guests, a move Airbnb began to make last year.

It’s an era of one-upmanship in online travel, and this sort of disruption occurs at a frenetic pace.

Consider that Expedia announced last week that it would work with Facebook’s agentic entrant, Muse, and days later an Instinct exec said that half of its volume is for travel.

Also this week, Kayak’s co-founders, both of whom had left the company, debuted their new startup, Lola, under the Booking Holdings umbrella.

All of this occurred within a week or so. You can keep abreast of most of these developments in the stories below.

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Headlines

Airbnb Launches AI Tools, Catching Up to OTA Rivals

by Dennis Schaal
September 30, 2026

Airbnb is not a first-mover in AI launches. That's OK: Kayak wasn't a first-mover in metasearch. The issue isn't necessarily timing, but whether Airbnb can offer AI products that are better than its rivals.

Vrbo to Double Commissions as It Plays Catch-Up to Airbnb

by Dennis Schaal
September 29, 2026

Airbnb and Booking.com charge no guest fees. But Vrbo has stated that it will keep guest fees, although the amounts will be flexible. That lack of specificity will stoke host anger because this gives hosts little visibility into the actual prices their guests will have to pay.

Kayak Co-Founders Launch Lola — Booking Holdings’ New AI Assistant: Exclusive

by Adriana Lee
September 29, 2026

Booking Holdings has spent years trying to stitch a trip together across separate apps. Lola wagers one assistant built from scratch, with a membership model and human concierge service, can finally hold it together.

Instinct’s App Is Fueled by Travel — Founder Says It’s Half of Volume

by Adriana Lee
September 28, 2026

Instinct got travel's attention by handling bookings via text message. Now the real question is whether it can turn that volume into revenue — and travel may be the test case.

Airbnb CEO on Hotels, Cars, and Flights: ‘I Had to Get Over My Ideology’

by Dennis Schaal
September 28, 2026

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky didn't address at length his changing views about Airbnb experiences, but there, too, he's softened his old religion about them having to be unique, and has added mainstream tours and activities.
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Airbnb isn't worried about AI cutting it out of the booking. Guests still need a verified ID, have to message hosts, browse dozens of homes and use the app to check in. Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky told Skift Global Forum that AI will bring more people to Airbnb, and that the company's own agent launches next year with an experience he says will be much richer than a chatbot.

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