Short Lets Were Booking's Fastest Growth. Now They're Its Slowest.

STR Unpacked · Aug 5, 2026 · 2m · transcript

Booking Holdings beat expectations last night. The number operators should care about was underneath. 📉

Q2 2026:

➡️ Room nights: 325 million, up 5%

➡️ Revenue: $7.35bn, up 8%, ahead of consensus

➡️ Gross bookings: $51.0bn, up 9%

➡️ Alternative accommodations: up 4%

That last one is below the total. Second quarter running.

Twelve months ago, same quarter, alternative accommodations grew 10% against total room nights of 8%. Short lets were the fastest growing part of Booking's business. They're now the slowest.

Booking points to the Middle East conflict, long-haul disruption and higher fares…