Lloyd Walmsley

Lloyd Walmsley asked for a framework to understand GOV growth for the balance of the year beyond the first quarter guidance.

Answer

CFO Ravi Inukonda highlighted strong underlying growth driven by existing and new consumers, robust MAU growth, strong order frequency, and record DashPass subscriber additions. He expressed confidence in overall growth for the rest of the year, attributing it to continuous product improvement and positive cohort responses.

Lloyd Walmsley sought a framework for thinking about GOV growth for the balance of the year, beyond the Q1 guidance.

Answer

CFO Ravi Inukonda stated that growth continues to be strong, driven by existing and new consumers, with robust MAU growth and order frequency. He highlighted DashPass's record year as a significant growth driver, expressing confidence in overall growth for the rest of the year as product improvements lead to strong underlying cohort responses, engagement, and retention.

Lloyd Walmsley, Managing Director and Internet Equity Research Analyst at Mizuho, asked about the continued growth in traditional paid search channels and sought clarification on where the $700 million reinvestment planned for 2026 would be allocated across marketing spend, supply acquisition, personnel, and other areas.

Answer

CEO Glenn Fogel confirmed that traditional paid search remains a good and growing business for Booking Holdings. EVP and CFO Ewout Steenbergen elaborated on the reinvestment areas, including core OTA categories (advertising, social media, U.S., Asia, loyalty, Connected Trip), Generative AI developments, expansion into new verticals (attractions, OpenTable international), and Fintech (localization, FX products). He highlighted that the $700 million reinvestment is largely self-funded by $250 million in additional in-year savings from the transformation program, allowing for a 50 basis point EBITDA margin expansion and 100 basis points faster top-line growth than the long-term algorithm.

Lloyd Walmsley, Managing Director and Internet Equity Research Analyst at Mizuho, asked about the continued growth in traditional paid search channels and for more details on where the $700 million reinvestment in 2026 would be allocated across the P&L, specifically if it would show up in marketing spend or supply acquisition.

Answer

CEO Glenn Fogel confirmed that traditional paid search channels are performing well and continue to be a good area for business growth. CFO Ewout Steenbergen elaborated on the reinvestment areas, including core OTA (advertising, social media, U.S., Asia, loyalty, Connected Trip), generative AI, expansion into new verticals (attractions, OpenTable internationally), and Fintech (localization, FX products). He clarified that these expenses would primarily hit fixed OpEx and sales and other lines, with offsetting revenues. Steenbergen noted that the net impact on EBITDA is projected at $300 million, but with an additional $250 million in-year savings from the transformation program, the investments are largely self-funded, allowing for a 50 basis point EBITDA margin expansion and 100 basis point faster top-line growth than the long-term algorithm.

Lloyd Walmsley inquired about Airbnb's commitment to building or rebuilding connectivity layers for hotels, addressing friction with APIs and supporting multiple rates. He also asked Brian Chesky's perspective on opening up the inventory aperture to include more mainstream hotels and experiences, balancing uniqueness with market expansion.

Answer

Brian Chesky, Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, confirmed the strategy of opening the inventory aperture, akin to Amazon's expansion beyond books. He highlighted that AI enables personalization, allowing guests to see unique homes, hotels, or both based on their preferences and trip type. Airbnb's hotel strategy focuses on boutiques and independents, which align with the brand ethos and represent a significant portion of the market, strengthening the overall platform by expanding TAM and reinforcing home bookings.

Lloyd Walmsley asked about Airbnb's commitment to building or rebuilding hotel connectivity layers and the strategy for opening up inventory to more mainstream hotels and experiences, balancing uniqueness with market expansion.

Answer

Brian Chesky, Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, confirmed the strategy to expand beyond unique homes, using AI for personalization to show guests what they prefer (unique homes, hotels, or both). He stated that the hotel strategy has evolved to be more expansive, focusing on boutiques and independents that align with Airbnb's ethos and offer significant market opportunity. He believes adding more offerings strengthens all other businesses on the platform.

Lloyd Walmsley sought clarity on Airbnb's long-term ambitions for hotels, questioning if the strategy extends beyond backfilling supply gaps.

Answer

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, envisions Airbnb as a one-stop shop for travel, including a portfolio of offerings like hotels. He emphasized focusing on boutique and independent hotels, which seek additional listing channels. The long-term vision involves personalization through AI, prioritizing hotels for specific customer intents (e.g., business travel, last-minute bookings) while maintaining the core Airbnb philosophy for others.

Lloyd Walmsley questioned Airbnb's long-term ambitions for its hotel business, asking if the strategy extends beyond merely backfilling inventory gaps to a broader merchandising and booking experience.

Answer

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky outlined a vision for Airbnb as a "one-stop shop" for travel, including hotels, focusing on boutiques and independents. He anticipates future expansion driven by AI-powered personalization, matching hotels to specific guest intents like business or last-minute stays.

Lloyd Walmsley asked about the strategy for geographic expansion in experiences, specifically the balance between building new supply and demand in new markets versus leveraging existing North American supply for new international points of sale. He also sought insights into the expected evolution of partnerships with major AI search platforms.

Answer

President and CEO Matt Goldberg explained that geo-expansion involves both, but primarily focuses on sourcing new supply appealing to international source markets, leveraging the Tripadvisor brand and AI for localization. Regarding AI partnerships, he stated that 2025 established a foundation for learning, and the company is now having "meaningful conversations" about deeper, less constrained partnerships to close the "confidence gap" between AI planning and booking, leveraging Tripadvisor's brand, content, data, and scale.

Lloyd Walmsley asked about the geographic expansion strategy for experiences, specifically the balance between building new supply/demand in new markets versus selling existing North American experiences into new points of sale. He also inquired about the expected evolution of partnerships with larger AI search platforms.

Answer

Matt Goldberg, President and CEO, explained that geographic expansion involves both strategies, but a significant focus is on sourcing new supply that appeals to international markets not previously served, leveraging the Tripadvisor brand, AI for localization, and targeted marketing. Regarding AI partnerships, he stated that 2025 established a foundation with partners like OpenAI, Amazon, Snap, and Microsoft, demonstrating the value of Tripadvisor's structured data. He expressed excitement about deeper, less constrained partnerships in the future, aiming to close the 'confidence gap' between AI planning and booking by providing a trusted layer with brand, content, data, and scaled experiences supply.

Lloyd Walmsley asked if Zillow plans to increase enforcement of its listing access standards to ensure broad distribution. He also inquired about the significant sequential step-up in the percentage of leads from Enhanced Markets, asking if it serves as a leading indicator and if underlying lead volumes are accelerating.

Answer

CEO Jeremy Wacksman stated that Zillow is already enforcing listing access standards, focusing on educating agents about the benefits of broad marketing. CFO Jeremy Hofmann clarified that while Zillow Home Loans revenue tends to follow Enhanced Markets expansion, the increase in Enhanced Markets connections does not directly translate one-to-one with the overall For Sale business.

Lloyd Walmsley asked if Zillow plans to increase enforcement of its listing access standards to ensure broad distribution and inquired about the leading indicator component of Enhanced Markets connections, specifically if underlying lead volumes are accelerating as these markets scale.

Answer

CEO Jeremy Wacksman stated that Zillow is already enforcing listing access standards through education, as most agents and sellers prefer broad exposure. CFO Jeremy Hofmann clarified that Zillow Home Loans revenue tends to lag Enhanced Markets expansion, and the increase in Enhanced Markets connections does not have a direct one-to-one correlation with the overall for-sale business growth.