Airbnb Reports 133.6 Million Nights Booked in Q3 2025

Airbnb demonstrated robust performance in the third quarter of 2025 as the short-term rental platform continues expanding its product offerings and global footprint. The company has been focusing on four strategic areas to drive growth: improving core services for hosts and guests, expanding into new international markets, diversifying beyond traditional home rentals, and integrating artificial intelligence throughout its platform.

The platform introduced several significant features during the quarter aimed at enhancing user experience. A Reserve Now Pay Later option launched in the United States allows guests to book eligible stays with zero upfront payment, which contributed to increased booking momentum. The company also updated its cancellation policies to provide more flexibility, with hosts now able to offer guests free cancellation up to 14 days before check-in. For all stays under 28 nights, guests can receive full refunds if they cancel within 24 hours of booking, provided the reservation is made more than seven days before check-in.

Map functionality received substantial improvements, with the platform now displaying nearby landmarks, public transit stations, and restaurants directly within the app. Future updates will include satellite, street, and transit view options. The company also introduced flexible search carousels that show properties slightly outside initial search criteria, helping guests discover alternative options at different price points or in nearby locations.

International expansion remains a priority for Airbnb, with the company executing a multi-year strategy that has already shown promising results. Expansion markets demonstrated growth rates double that of core markets over the past twelve months on an origin basis. Japan saw first-time bookers increase more than 20 percent year-over-year, while India experienced growth approaching 50 percent in new user acquisition.

The company expanded beyond traditional accommodations with Airbnb Services and reimagined Airbnb Experiences, which launched in May 2025. These offerings received strong guest feedback with average ratings of 4.93 out of 5 stars. Nearly half of experience bookings in the third quarter were made by guests who did not have an accompanying accommodation reservation, indicating these products are attracting new users to the platform. The company received over 110,000 applications from potential service and experience hosts.

Social features were introduced to enhance the experiences product, allowing guests to see who else is attending before booking, message other participants directly through the app, and maintain connections with people met during experiences. The company views these features as supporting its mission to facilitate real-world connections.

Airbnb also began piloting a hotels offering in Los Angeles, New York City, and Madrid, partnering directly with boutique and independent hotels. The company developed specialized search filters, updated hotel page displays, and room type selection capabilities specifically for hotel listings. This initiative aims to fill supply gaps in markets where home inventory is limited, particularly for one-night stays or last-minute bookings in urban centers.

Artificial intelligence integration accelerated across the platform with more than a dozen AI initiatives underway. The company deployed an enhanced AI customer support assistant that provides personalized responses based on specific reservations or listings and enables users to take actions like canceling or changing dates directly within the chat interface. Initially launched in the United States, the AI assistant reduced the need for human agent contact by approximately 15 percent and is expanding to additional countries and languages, with plans to support over 50 languages in 2026.

The company is developing AI-powered search functionality that will allow conversational interactions within the app to help users design customized trips. This feature is currently in testing and will roll out throughout 2026.

For the third quarter of 2025, Airbnb reported revenue of 4.1 billion dollars, representing 10 percent year-over-year growth and landing at the high end of company guidance. This performance was driven by solid growth in nights stayed and modest increases in average daily rates.

Gross Booking Value reached 22.9 billion dollars, increasing 14 percent year-over-year or 12 percent excluding foreign exchange impacts. Nights and Seats Booked totaled 133.6 million, rising 9 percent compared to the prior year period. Both metrics accelerated from the second quarter and exceeded company expectations, with strength attributed to the US market and average daily rate performance.

Average daily rate was 171 dollars in the third quarter, up 5 percent year-over-year. Excluding foreign exchange effects, average daily rate increased 2 percent, with growth across all regions primarily due to price appreciation.

Profitability metrics remained strong as adjusted EBITDA reached 2.1 billion dollars with a 50 percent margin, the highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA in company history. Net income was 1.4 billion dollars, representing a 34 percent margin. The net income figure was impacted by a one-time 213 million dollar valuation allowance related to Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax credits resulting from tax legislation enacted in July 2025.

Cash flow generation continued at robust levels with free cash flow of 1.3 billion dollars in the quarter and 4.5 billion dollars over the trailing twelve months, representing a 38 percent free cash flow margin. The company held 11.7 billion dollars in cash and investments at quarter end, along with 7.2 billion dollars of funds held on behalf of guests.

Regional performance varied across geographic markets. North America demonstrated mid-single digit growth in Nights and Seats Booked, representing sequential acceleration driven by strong domestic travel and longer lead time bookings. The Reserve Now Pay Later payment option contributed to this acceleration. Latin America showed low-20s growth in bookings, with Brazil experiencing over 20 percent growth in origin nights booked and 17 percent increase in first-time bookers. The introduction of interest-free installment payment plans in Brazil for up to six months led to more than double the share of bookers choosing installment options.

EMEA experienced mid-single digit growth in Nights and Seats Booked despite facing slightly unfavorable year-over-year comparisons due to the Paris Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024. Asia Pacific posted mid-teens growth, with Japan showing particularly strong performance as domestic travel nights booked increased 27 percent year-over-year, marking the third consecutive quarter of acceleration.

The company executed 857 million dollars in share repurchases during the third quarter as part of its capital allocation strategy. Since initiating the share repurchase program in 2022, fully diluted share count has decreased approximately 8 percent through combined share buybacks and cash used for employee tax obligations totaling 12.4 billion dollars.

For the fourth quarter of 2025, Airbnb projects revenue between 2.66 billion and 2.72 billion dollars, representing year-over-year growth of 7 to 10 percent including a small foreign exchange tailwind. The company expects Gross Booking Value to grow in the low-double digits year-over-year, with Nights and Seats Booked anticipated to grow in the mid-single digit range. The guidance accounts for more challenging year-over-year comparisons in the fourth quarter of 2024. For full-year 2025, the company now expects adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 35 percent.