Airbnb’s Next Act: Tickets, Then a Wallet

Skift Take Airbnb spent seven years watching attractions ticketing from inside Tiqets, let Expedia buy the company, and is now hiring to build its own ticketing business. Airbnb is hiring senior leaders to expand a standalone tickets business and build a guest wallet, according to job listings posted on its careers site this July. Airbnb has not announced either business elsewhere. The listings do not connect the two projects. But both fit the direction Airbnb has been moving over the past year: giving people more to buy than a short-term rental. One listing is for a product marketing and management leader for what Airbnb calls the Tickets team, which it describes as “a new and fast-growing business spanning attractions, tours, and live events.” Another is for a senior strategy and operations lead who will be responsible for adding supply, selling tickets, and growing gross booking value. The role calls for experience with reservation systems, channel managers, and “primary and secondary ticketers.” Airbnb also posted a product manager role for Wallet, described as “Airbnb’s new financial hub for guests.”