Airbnb Names Ex-Booking.com Hotel Boss and Tripadvisor Exec as Chief Business Officer
Airbnb has appointed Pepijn Rijvers, former head of Booking.com's hotels and short-term rentals and most recently president of Tripadvisor's Viator, as its new chief business officer. The move underscores Airbnb's strategic focus on expanding its hotels business, following the addition of thousands of boutique hotels across 20 cities in August. Rijvers will focus on homes and hotels, while experiences and services shift to chief experience officer Hiroki Asai. This marks Airbnb's second high-profile C-suite exit in nine months, after CTO Ari Balogh's departure in December 2025.
Impact and considerations
Airbnb's appointment of an executive with Booking.com and Viator background signals its aggressive push into hotels, potentially intensifying competition and impacting hotel owners and investors.
Key points
- Airbnb appoints Pepijn Rijvers, former Booking.com hotels head and Viator president, as CBO.
- Rijvers will focus on homes and hotels; experiences and services move to Hiroki Asai.
- In August, Airbnb added thousands of boutique hotels across 20 cities.
- This is the second C-suite exit in nine months, following CTO departure in December 2025.
- CEO Brian Chesky emphasizes differentiation as a discovery platform.
Sources and time
- Primary source
- Skift
- Other sources
- 0
- First source publication
- 1 Sept 2026, 23:30
- Page published
- 2 Sept 2026, 00:02
- Last updated
- 1 Sept 2026, 23:30
- Original links
- Skift Feed：Airbnb Names Ex-Booking.com Hotel Boss and Tripadvisor Exec as Chief Business Officer (opens in a new tab)Primary source · en · Published 1 Sept 2026, 23:30