Airbnb Stories

American Stories

Airbnb stories

Klarna seeks U.S. banking licence for Utah industrial bank

Approval would let the fintech bring U.S. payments, savings and credit operations in-house, reducing reliance on partner banks.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Last week

Global Stories

Airbnb stories

Digital Transformation

Partly raises USD $50 million to fuel US expansion

The fresh capital gives the automotive software firm room to scale in the US, where repair delays and manual processes still add costly friction.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 5 min read • Last month

Software-as-a-Service

Cloudbeds & Journey launch shared hotel loyalty network

Independent hotels could win repeat bookings from big chains and OTAs as Cloudbeds and Journey pool loyalty rewards across a shared network.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Last month

Fintech

Nuvei agrees to buy Payoneer for USD $2.75 billion

The combined group would process more than USD $500 billion a year, giving merchants broader cross-border payment tools across 190 markets.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Last month

Artificial Intelligence

Airbnb adds car hires, hotels & World Cup experiences

Travellers could now book more of a trip in one app as the platform adds hotels, car hires and World Cup activities.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Fri, 22nd May 2026

Personalisation

Clouted raises USD $7 million for AI marketing platform

Consumer and entertainment brands now have a new AI tool as Clouted secured USD $7 million to automate campaign planning, distribution and optimisation.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Thu, 21st May 2026

Customer Experience

Amex GBT to go private in USD $6.3B Long Lake deal

Shareholders are set to pocket USD $9.50 a share as the business travel group exits public markets, pending approvals.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Wed, 6th May 2026

Customer Experience

Cloudbeds flags six trends for independent hotels in 2026

Independent hotels face tighter margins in 2026 as room revenue falls, distribution costs rise and AI reshapes how guests find and book stays.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 4 min read • Tue, 5th May 2026

Data Protection

OpenAI hires Brent Thomas to lead public policy in ANZ

OpenAI has appointed Brent Thomas to lead policy in Australia and New Zealand as Canberra tightens AI governance and copyright rules.

By Mark Tarre • 2 min read • Wed, 25th Mar 2026

Crypto

Klarna tops 1 million merchants as leisure spend surges

Klarna has topped 1 million merchants worldwide as it accelerates into everyday and leisure spending, led by sport, hobby and wellness.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 3 min read • Thu, 19th Mar 2026

Virtualisation

Tetrate unveils Built on Envoy open source extension hub

Tetrate launches Built on Envoy, an open source extension hub to speed enterprise adoption of Envoy, especially for AI-heavy workloads.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 5 min read • Thu, 12th Mar 2026

Space Technologies

Sentinel Global rebuilds AI-led venture team, eyes 2026

Sentinel Global rebuilds its AI-driven venture team around GIC veteran Jeremy Kranz and expands Sentinel Labs, targeting a 2026 fundraise.

By Shannon Williams • 4 min read • Thu, 12th Mar 2026

Customer Experience

Laundryheap pushes into four new markets worldwide

On-demand laundry platform Laundryheap has expanded into Colombia, Mexico, Malaysia and Scotland, as it accelerates its global rollout.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Fri, 27th Feb 2026

eLearning

Learning marketplace Preply raises $150 million to fuel global AI push

Language learning platform Preply secures $150 million to boost AI tools and global growth, valuing the business at $1.2 billion.

By Catherine Knowles • 4 min read • Fri, 23rd Jan 2026

Unified Communications

Adobe names Lucius DiPhillips CIO to drive AI focus

Adobe has named Lucius DiPhillips CIO, tasking the ex-Airbnb technology chief with driving its global tech operations and AI transformation.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 3 min read • Wed, 21st Jan 2026

Expedia

Hotel bookings shift as travellers seek value & shorter stays in 2025

In 2025, hotel bookings shift as travellers favour value and shorter stays, with OTAs like Expedia and Trip.com seeing strong growth amid rising price sensitivity.

By Sean Mitchell • 3 min read • Tue, 18th Nov 2025