Airbnb Becomes What It Destroyed as Executives Flee the Turnaround

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spent years disrupting hotels, but now it’s quietly joining them. After admitting the business was “broken,” seeing net income nearly halve, and watching the stock slide since its IPO, CEO Brian Chesky is clinging to familiar, tried-and-true offerings to turn things around. With rental restrictions squeezing its core product in major cities, the pivot looks less like innovation and more like survival — as insiders are already heading for the exits.

• Airbnb launched a boutique hotel pilot in LA, New York, and Madrid — mimicking Booking.com’sBKNG
  one-stop-travel shopping playbook to keep users inside its ecosystem.
• Chesky also poured $200M+ into reviving Experiences and launching live events — targeting $1B in new revenue and $10B in experience bookings by decade’s end.

Executive exodus: While Chesky pitches AI-powered features and new verticals as the fix, his lieutenants aren’t sticking around to see it through. CTO Ari Balogh left in November, and CIO Lucius DiPhillips just followed after seven years — both departures timed perfectly with the company’s digital transformation push. When the architects bail mid-renovation, you have to wonder whether the blueprint’s actually sound. Turns out, even insiders want an exit strategy when the future’s not certain.