Booking Holdings Is Almost as Big as Airbnb in Homes

Rental Scale-Up
Published: February 19, 2026
Growth & Marketing

Summary

Booking.com's homes business is approaching Airbnb's scale in room nights, signaling a shift in the STR landscape. The platform is highly profitable and institutionalized loyalty programs like Genius. As Airbnb expands beyond accommodation with services and a focus on lifestyle, hosts need to understand these evolving platform dynamics to maximize their revenue and visibility.

Key Insights

  • Booking.com's non-hotel volume is roughly 80-85% of Airbnb’s total nights.
  • Booking Holdings had an adjusted operating margin of ~37% in 2025.

Action Items

  • Evaluate your listings on Booking.com to ensure they are optimized to take advantage of the Genius program.
    Effort: medium
    Impact: medium
  • Consider the impact of Booking.com's Genius loyalty program and Airbnb's emerging loyalty programs on your pricing and channel allocation strategies.
    Effort: low
    Impact: medium

Tools & Resources

  • Booking.com Genius: The article mentions Booking.com's Genius loyalty system.(booking.com)

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