Yesterday, Booking Holdings — parent of Booking.com and Agoda — released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, along with guidance for 2026.

It did not generate the same noise as Airbnb’s earnings call.

Partly because Booking is not positioned as a pure vacation rental brand. And partly because it simply is not “cool” in the way Airbnb presents itself.

But scale does not require cool.

If you operate in Europe, the Middle East or Australia, you already understand Booking’s weight in short-term rentals. In the United States, it attracts less attention — yet behind the hotel headlines sits a non-hotel business approaching Airbnb’s scale in room nights, backed by nearly $10 billion in annual operating profit.

And during the call, the chief executive was explicit: in US alternative accommodations, they are not yet where they want to be — but supply is growing.

1️⃣ Scale: Booking’s Homes Business Is Nearly Airbnb’s Size

Why this matters

Many managers still see Booking.com as “mostly hotels.” That view is outdated.

The numbers (2025 results)

Airbnb

• 490+ million nights and experiences booked
• Revenue: $11+ billion
• Adjusted operating margin: ~28%

Booking Holdings

• 1.2+ billion total room nights
• Revenue: $23+ billion
• Adjusted operating margin: ~37%

Now the key detail:

• 36% of Booking’s room nights are “alternative accommodations” (homes, apartments, guesthouses, bed & breakfasts, aparthotels)

That equals roughly 430 million non-hotel room nights.

Alternative accommodations grew about 10% year-over-year.

Bottom line

Booking’s non-hotel volume is now roughly 80–85% of Airbnb’s total nights.

This is not marginal supply.

It is global scale.

In Europe, Australia, the Middle East — and increasingly the U.S. — Booking is already a structural demand engine for professional managers.

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2️⃣ Profitability: Booking Is Growing Homes Inside a Cash Machine

Why this matters

Profit buys patience. Profit buys investment. Profit buys competitive stamina.

The numbers (2025)

• Adjusted operating profit: ~$9.9 billion
• Margin: 36.9%
• Free cash flow: ~$9.1 billion
• Share count reduced 22% since 2022

Alternative accommodation mix increased 1 percentage point year-over-year.

What this tells you

Booking is not chasing homes at the expense of margin.
It is growing alternative accommodations while expanding profitability.
That gives it capacity to:

• Push harder in the United States
• Expand loyalty incentives
• Invest in payments infrastructure
• Improve ranking tools
• Compete aggressively for professional supply

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3️⃣ How They Position Themselves

Understanding tone helps you understand direction.

Booking: “We operate the infrastructure.”

Booking talks about:

• Handling payments in 100+ payment methods
• Operating in 50+ currencies
• Managing compliance across hundreds of jurisdictions
• Supporting millions of independent partners

Its message to investors is clear:

We run the machinery of global travel.

It emphasises operational complexity, payments, regulatory capability and partner services.

Booking positions itself as travel infrastructure.

Airbnb: “We improve the product and expand the platform.”

Airbnb talks about:

• Reducing booking friction
• Simplifying fees
• Improving checkout
• Removing low-quality listings
• Increasing conversion

But it is also expanding categories.

In 2025 Airbnb:

• Relaunched Experiences globally
• Launched Services (chefs, photographers, massages, etc.)
• Re-emphasised boutique hotels
• Expanded “Airbnb-friendly buildings” (apartment partnerships that formally allow short-term rentals)

And importantly:

Roughly half of Experiences bookings are not attached to a home stay.

In cities like Paris, many are booked by locals.

Airbnb is not just attaching more services to trips.

It is trying to become a lifestyle platform — one that people use even when they are not travelling.

What this means

Booking competes on:

• Infrastructure
• Payments
• Partner integration
• Scale

Airbnb competes on:

• Product design
• Brand identity
• Platform frequency
• Habit formation

One deepens the transaction.

The other widens the ecosystem.

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4️⃣ Loyalty: Structural at Booking. Emerging at Airbnb.

If you manage on Booking, you already know Genius.

If not, here is the context.

Booking Genius (Established)

Genius is Booking.com’s loyalty system.

Guests qualify based on booking frequency.

Benefits include:

• Automatic 10–20% discounts
• Free breakfast at some properties
• Room upgrades
• Priority support

In 2025:

Higher-tier Genius travellers accounted for more than half of Booking’s total room nights.

This is not promotional.

It is embedded into ranking and conversion.

Genius influences:

• Visibility
• Pricing expectations
• Direct booking behaviour
• Repeat frequency

It is structural.

Airbnb Loyalty (Testing)

For years, Airbnb resisted loyalty programs.

Airbnb is now testing a model where hosts:

• Offer 20% discounts
• To highly rated guests
• In exchange for improved search visibility

This is not a formal program yet.

There is:

• No permanent enrollment
• No tier branding
• No ongoing obligation

But the economic lever is similar:

Margin in exchange for exposure.

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Why this matters

If Airbnb formalises loyalty mechanics, visibility may increasingly depend on participation in discount-based programs — as it already does on Booking.

For managers, this affects:

• Revenue strategy
• ADR protection
• Visibility planning
• Channel allocation decisions

Booking institutionalised loyalty years ago.

Airbnb is now experimenting with similar incentives.

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5️⃣ Expansion: Connected Trip vs Platform Habit

Both want more than accommodation revenue.

They approach it differently.

Booking: Attach More to the Same Trip

Booking defines success as a “connected transaction”:

A traveller books more than one category for the same trip.

In 2025:

• 68 million airline tickets booked (+37%)
• Attractions bookings grew nearly 80%
• Connected transactions grew in the high-20% range

The logic:

More services per trip → more revenue per traveller.

Flights feed accommodation.

Attractions attach to the stay.

Payments sit underneath everything.

Booking deepens the wallet per journey.

Airbnb: Increase Usage Beyond the Trip

Airbnb celebrates something different:

About half of Experiences bookings are not connected to a stay.

Many are local.

That means:

Airbnb is increasing platform usage beyond travel.

Book a chef for a dinner.

Book a photographer in your own city.

Attend a local experience.

This builds habit.

Airbnb is trying to become something closer to a lifestyle brand.

Booking deepens transactions.

Airbnb increases frequency.

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6️⃣ Artificial Intelligence: Not a Threat — an Efficiency Engine

Both companies addressed artificial intelligence directly.

Neither framed it as existential.

Booking’s message

Artificial intelligence:

• Improves search and recommendations
• Enhances customer service
• Reduces cost per booking

The company reported roughly a 10% reduction in customer service cost per booking.

Its tone is operational and economic.

Airbnb’s message

Artificial intelligence:

• Handles around 30% of English-language support requests in North America
• Is being tested in search
• Is integrated into the app experience

Airbnb emphasises:

• Faster iteration
• Better service
• Improved conversion

Neither company is trying to build foundational language models.

Both are using existing technology to improve their economics and product.

What Professional Managers Should Take Away

Booking Holdings:

• Is nearly Airbnb’s size in non-hotel nights
• Is highly profitable
• Is expanding alternative accommodations
• Has institutionalised loyalty
• Is pushing growth in the U.S.

Airbnb:

• Is expanding categories beyond travel
• Is experimenting with loyalty mechanics
• Is strengthening brand attachment
• Is increasing usage frequency