Airbnb ended the second quarter with revenue of US$ 3.6 billion, up 17% year over year, while expanding its use of artificial intelligence across different areas of its operations. According to information published by PYMNTS this Friday (7), the company also raised its profitability outlook for the year.
The company said AI-based tools reduced by up to 60% the time needed to develop some initiatives. In the first half, the number of features and improvements launched grew nearly 80% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Part of that technology is already showing up directly for platform users. Airbnb uses AI to produce summaries of listings and reviews, with the goal of making it easier to evaluate properties before booking.
Hosts have also gained new pricing tools that use platform data to help set nightly rates.
Automated customer service reaches 50 languages
The AI-based customer service assistant already works in more than 50 languages and resolves about 45% of requests without forwarding them to a human agent.
According to the company, the automation contributed to a roughly 16% reduction in support cost per booking.
CEO Brian Chesky said during the results presentation that the technology is also being used to speed up product changes and expand the company's ability to launch new services.
Pay later surpasses 20% of booking volume
The Reserve Now, Pay Later program, which allows booking before full payment, accounted for more than 20% of gross booking value in the quarter.
According to Airbnb, the option helped increase the number of bookings, extend booking lead times, and raise the average daily rate. The company has also recently expanded the number of bookings eligible for the program.
Services and hotels gain ground
The company also expanded Airbnb Services, adding options such as grocery delivery, airport transfers, luggage storage, and car rentals.
The number of experiences available on the platform nearly doubled, while thousands of boutique hotels were added to the catalog.
Hotel stays still represent a small share of total bookings, but they are growing at a pace roughly three times faster than the core homes and apartments business.
With the quarter's results, Airbnb raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA margin forecast to at least 35.5%.
