Airbnb Is Rebuilding Luxe, and Your Existing High-End Listings May Be Part of It

Airbnb appears to be preparing a proper relaunch of Luxe, its tier of vetted high-end homes, most likely in 2027. And it isn’t only looking for new luxury homes. It is also looking at listings hosts and managers already have on the platform.

Five things point that way.

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1. The Amex partnership gives Airbnb a reason to grow Luxe

Amex has built its most valuable Platinum perk around Luxe homes specifically. That turns Luxe from a quiet corner of Airbnb into a product a major card issuer is promoting to its best customers.

On October 22, the two companies launched an exclusive partnership putting more than 1 million Airbnb listings on Amex Travel, the card issuer’s booking site:

• Every listing: eligible US cardholders earn Membership Rewards points (Amex’s points currency), up to 5x for Platinum members.
• Luxe only: Platinum cardholders can spend their $600 yearly lodging credit, previously hotels only, on Luxe stays of two nights or more.
• Luxe only: a Luxe booking also unlocks a new $250 yearly credit for Airbnb Experiences.

For hosts, operations don’t change: Airbnb still processes bookings and handles messaging and support. What changes is demand, and a benefit like this only works if there are enough Luxe homes to spend it on.

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2. Airbnb Luxe is too small for that role today

Luxe lost its momentum in 2020 and never fully got it back. It is still a tiny slice of Airbnb’s roughly 5 million hosts.

• At launch: Airbnb launched Luxe in June 2019 with more than 2,000 handpicked homes, each checked against more than 300 criteria, and a dedicated trip designer for every booking.
• The pause: in 2020, Chesky paused Airbnb Plus and Luxe. Listings stayed bookable, but the marketing stopped.
• Today: a recent Airbnb job posting, since taken down, described Luxe as “9,000+ vetted, high-end homes.”
• One market: a quick search I ran for five-night Miami stays between mid-November and early December, filtered to Luxe, returned 121 listings. One search in one market, so take it with a grain of salt, but it gives a rough sense of scale in one of Airbnb’s biggest markets.

That’s not a lot of homes for Amex’s Platinum cardholders to spend a $600 credit on. So the question is where Airbnb will find more.

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3. Airbnb plans to upgrade existing listings into Luxe, not just recruit new ones

The fastest way to grow Luxe is to look at homes already on Airbnb. Airbnb’s hiring shows it is doing exactly that, alongside a new application route for hosts.

• A team built to convert listings: a Senior Operations Manager, Luxe Vetting posting says the team “converts high-potential Marketplace listings into Luxe” and “sets and enforces the quality bar for the Luxe badge.”
• How homes are checked: an earlier 2026 role involves “visual vetting of potential Luxe listings” and reviewing walkthrough reports to decide “whether a property should pass or fail Luxe criteria.”
• What Chesky told hosts: at Airbnb’s September host summit, Chesky said Airbnb is rebuilding Luxe, Skift reported. Hosts will apply, then pass an in-person inspection.

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What Airbnb Luxe homes need to have

The summit slide listed the standards:

• Distinctive design with premium materials and updated kitchen and bath finishes
• An upscale location with guest privacy, and a full upscale kitchen
• King or queen beds with en-suite bathrooms
• Private laundry, plus air conditioning and heating throughout

For managers, a high-end home already on Airbnb could be a Luxe candidate without the manager applying first. And Airbnb isn’t treating this as a side project.

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4. Airbnb is treating Luxe as one of its “fastest growing emerging businesses”

Companies hire finance, sales and support staff for products they plan to scale, not ones they are winding down. Airbnb is hiring all three for Luxe.

• Investment planning: a Principal, Strategic Finance & Analytics, Incubations role, posted October 7, calls Luxe one of “Airbnb’s fastest growing emerging businesses.” The hire will “build the business cases behind major investment decisions across Luxe,” including “how large those bets should be.”
• Recruiting new hosts: a Luxe sales role in Mexico City (October 6) says the team “is growing.” A Los Angeles market manager (September 14) will “own new market launches end-to-end.” A European ski markets role (May) required French or Italian.
• Guest service: seven Premium Support roles are open, covering “the Luxury segment,” including a new team manager role posted October 14.

Airbnb has invested this way before, and the timing of those launches suggests when Luxe could follow.

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5. Airbnb’s hotels playbook points to a Luxe relaunch in 2027

Airbnb has already brought back two products that faded after 2020, each rebuilt with stricter curation. Luxe fits the same pattern, and the timelines line up on 2027.

• Experiences came back in May 2025.
• Hotels came back in the 2026 Summer Release as a hand-picked pilot with “no big chains,” and are now growing about three times faster than homes.
• The Amex credit year: Amex’s updated lodging credit rules apply from January 1, 2027, the first full year of Luxe credits.
• Lead times: homes recruited this fall still need review and inspection, so they would likely go live in 2027.

At the risk of tooting our own horn, I predicted in December 2025 that Luxe would return using “Airbnb’s new piloting approach,” and again in January and in a webinar with RSU founder Thibault Masson.

Nothing is confirmed yet. Airbnb hasn’t mentioned Luxe on an earnings call this year, and there are no Luxe brand or marketing roles open. Its Q3 call on November 5 is the next chance to hear more.

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What the Luxe rebuild means for hosts and managers

Taken together, the five points support one claim: Airbnb is rebuilding Luxe for a likely 2027 relaunch, and it will draw on homes already on the platform. That says a lot about where Airbnb is heading.

• Curated tiers keep growing. Hotels, Experiences and now Luxe are each hand-picked by Airbnb. It fits the case we have been making since 2024, that Airbnb is becoming “the Amazon of travel.”
• Airbnb is pulling listings up. A vetting team that converts regular listings into Luxe means Airbnb is scanning its own inventory for homes that fit.
• Premium guests are arriving through partners. Amex cardholders will now find Luxe homes on Amex Travel, not only on Airbnb.
• Published standards are the entry ticket. The Luxe checklist is a clear view of what Airbnb thinks its highest-paying guests expect.