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

September 28th, 2026 at 4:30 PM EDT Photo Credit: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky addressed Skift Global Forum 2026. Skift Eighteen years after co-founding Airbnb, CEO Brian Chesky explained how he has become "a little less religious" about what had been a resistance to hotels and standard OTA offerings, such as car rentals and flights. At Skift Global Forum in New York City last week, Chesky even said he'd be open to Airbnb listing Hiltons and Marriotts "at some point," a move that he previously thought might be too "jarring" to the Airbnb brand. Chesky noted Airbnb is already selling "commodities," such as car rentals, and will "one day" offer another, namely flights. "We've gotten over a little bit of our religion of no commodities, but I will say the vast majority of our supply will always be unique," Chesky said. Asked whether it would be wrong to call Airbnb an OTA, Chesky said the description would be "incomplete." He emphasized that unlike typical OTAs, Airbnb is a "community." "We have an average of three guests per booking, 90% of p Dennis Schaal is Skift's executive editor. As a reporter, he covers online travel and short-term rentals for Skift. Schaal has written oral histories of online travel, Booking.com and short-term rentals.