Airbnb relaunched experiences in 2025, and after a sluggish start, CEO Brian Chesky focused on getting one city right — Paris — a focus he said at Skift Global Forum is paying off, with growth "6x year over year." Now the question is whether Airbnb can succeed by marketing to locals, something few other experiences companies have found success with.

Time Horizon: 6–18 months

Should experiences platforms like Viator and GetYourGuide start spending to win locals now, or wait until Airbnb proves the Paris numbers hold in New York?

Experiences platform CEOs — locals market now contested · Airbnb equity investors — 6x growth needs sizing · Tour and activity operators — resident demand opens up

Accor launched Accor Local in 2017 to sell services to Parisians, expanded it to more than 40 cities, and then abandoned it. Klook built its business on residents after the pandemic shut borders.

Demand — Intrepid's Co-Founder Wants Travelers Closer to Home — Tasmin Lockwood.

Demand — China's Golden Week Travelers Are Going Farther and Spending Less on Hotels — Peden Doma Bhutia

Talent — Expedia Cuts 58 Roles in Latest Layoff Round — Adriana Lee

Airbnb Experiences in New York: whether New Yorkers book experiences in their own city at anything like the Paris rate.

Viator and GetYourGuide: any marketing aimed at residents of the cities where they already sell tours.

Accor's Ennismore funding: whether Sébastien Bazin names an IPO or another source of capital for U.S. expansion.

Despite years of false starts in experiences, Airbnb leads the pack with travelers. Half of U.S. travelers surveyed by Skift Research named Airbnb Experiences as a platform they used to book their most recent paid activity.

When an AI agent mediates the booking, who owns the customer relationship? Airbnb's bet on locals discovering experiences in their own city is one answer, and every travel company selling through an agent needs its own.

Tyler Morse of MCR Hotels, Doria Holbrook of Oro Mobility, and Adam Schwab of Luxury Escapes join airline, OTA, and payments leaders in NYC on November 11 for a one-day summit on who controls the converging commerce stack. Every session grounded in Skift Research.

AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL + SKIFT

Millennials and Gen Z now make up 65% of American Express's new customers globally, and at Skift Global Forum, American Express Travel President Audrey Hendley explained why that's forcing brands to rethink what "premium" means, from boutique wellness hotels to AI that makes human service better.

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 said at the 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.

How are public travel companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to understand global market movements. Paid subscribers get full access here.

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