Airbnb started out of an idea of renting out spare beds and rooms in private homes to people as an affordable alternative to hotels, but as it has scaled it’s spent years going upmarket from that, evolving into a wider platform for any kind of private accommodation, with a big emphasis on travelers taking entire homes, not just rooms. That’s helped the company land its first profitable year in 2022, but there is a looming problem: Airbnb homes are getting more expensive to rent, with average prices up 36% since 2019 — and with the current state of the economy, travelers are looking for more affordable alternatives again. So today, Airbnb is changing tack: it’s taking the wraps off a new single-room rental option, making it once again a more prominent part of the search flow for would-be travelers.
“Everyone’s talking about the economy. And, you know, we know that people want to travel,” said co-founder...
