Shares of Airbnb surged 6.2% to $177.19 on September 22 after RBC Capital reiterated its Outperform rating and $195 price target, pointing to growing momentum behind the company's push into traditional hotel listings. The move, amplified by a broad tech rally that lifted the Nasdaq 2.47%, raises a pointed question: is the hotel expansion a genuine growth engine, or a costly distraction from the core business? RBC's $195 Call Bets Airbnb Can Win in Hotels — but Is the Home-Sharing King Ready to Fight Booking.com on Its Own Turf?
Shares of Airbnb jumped 6.2% to $177.19 after RBC Capital reiterated its Outperform rating and $195 price target, anchored to what the firm sees as accelerating momentum in Airbnb's hotel business. A broad risk-on session — the Nasdaq rose 2.47% — helped, but the bulk of the move reflects growing Wall Street conviction that Airbnb is evolving from a home-rental marketplace into a full-spectrum travel platform. For shareholders, the question is whether that transformation justifies a stock still trading 10% below RBC's target.
Hotel Bookings Are Growing Twice as Fast as the Core Business
Airbnb's hotel vertical is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the business , and CEO Brian Chesky said the hotel business is performing "significantly better than expected."
CFO Ellie Mertz noted that hotel nights still represent only a single-digit percentage of total bookings , but Chesky has framed hotels as a potential "multibillion-dollar revenue business." The math matters: Q2 2026 revenue hit $3.6 billion, up 17% year-over-year , and Airbnb raised its full-year guidance to at least mid-teens revenue growth. Hotels don't need to dominate bookings to move the needle — they just need to keep adding incremental trips.
The Strategy Puts Airbnb on a Collision Course with Booking.com
Airbnb's move into hotels challenges established online travel agencies like Booking.com, raising questions about differentiation.
The hotel listings are intentionally focused on smaller, independent properties — boutique and design-forward hotels , and Airbnb is incentivizing users with up to 15% back in platform credits. That subsidy helped drive volume but sales and marketing surged 27% year-over-year to $875 million in Q2, outpacing revenue growth.
AI and Services Add Revenue Layers — at a Cost
An AI assistant now handles nearly 45% of customer issues without a human agent , trimming support costs. Meanwhile, Experiences supply grew nearly 80% year-over-year in Q2 , and roughly 55% of guests who book a hotel on Airbnb return to book a home. These cross-selling loops strengthen the platform, but Airbnb guided for adjusted EBITDA margins of at least 35.5% for the full year — healthy, yet under pressure from the spending needed to win hotel supply.
RBC's $195 Target Implies Another 10% Upside — Here's the Risk The gap between today's price and RBC's target hinges on hotel expansion sustaining its pace without margin erosion. Airbnb flagged "slightly elevated" cancellations in Europe and Asia-Pacific due to geopolitical conflict, expecting a 100-basis-point drag on bookings. If hotel economics prove dilutive or global travel softens further, the $195 target gets harder to reach — no matter how fast the new business grows.