Airbnb

Portland social enterprise bnb-side has been served with legal letters from Airbnb after registering its six-room B&B name, which includes the descriptive term "bnb". Airbnb argues the name could confuse consumers, harm its reputation and unfairly profit from its brand; bnb-side says "bnb" is a longstanding descriptive shorthand and that losing the name would jeopardise almost half of the festival’s income. b-side is defending the registration with pro bono legal support and the dispute is ongoing; IP lawyers say Airbnb faces an uphill battle and potential PR risk. » More on theguardian.com

CEO Brian Chesky says AI has increased engineering output by 80%, allowed AI to handle nearly 45% of customer service tickets and reduced support cost per booking by ~16%. Q2 revenue rose 16.5% to $3.61 billion, net income grew 27% and adjusted EBITDA margin reached 35% with a raised 2026 target of at least 35.5%. Management cites AI as enabling new services and cross-selling, but competitors deploying similar tools could compress Airbnb's advantage and pressure the firm's premium valuation. » More on finance.yahoo.com

CEO Brian Chesky said that after a fundamental technical overhaul, Airbnb will expand beyond private rentals into hotels, services, experiences, car rentals and long‑term stays and will increase AI support. The core business continues to grow and is approaching gross bookings of about $100 billion, while international markets—particularly Asia and India—are priorities. AI already handles nearly half of customer inquiries and is greatly accelerating product development; additional monetization sources such as sponsored listings and host services are intended to support growth. » More on de.investing.com