Sequoia scraps London office as UK employees face axe Tech Silicon Valley venture capital giant Sequoia Capital is shutting its London office and cutting staff, just six years after expanding into Europe, in a major retreat from Britain’s startup investment scene. The US investor, an early backer of Apple, Airbnb and Stripe, confirmed the closure in a sweeping restructuring announcement, saying it no longer saw [...]
A tourist tax will be bad for all business, not just hotels Opinion Increasing the cost of hotel rooms and Airbnbs is not just a blow to the hospitality sector, it will hammer all businesses, argues James Ford.
Beware the AI holiday let Opinion AI is increasingly being used to manipulate adverts for holiday lets. It’s not just horrible for holidaymakers, it could get landlords in trouble with the law, says Alex Poplawska With the summer holidays upon us, many will be heading out on staycations and weekend getaways, but some landlords are taking ‘dream holiday’ too far by [...]
OpenTable launches AI concierge, but do we really need a bot to book dinner? September 23, 2025 OpenTable has launched Concierge, its new generative AI assistant, or ‘agent,’ designed to give diners instant insights across more than 60,000 restaurants worldwide. From menu details and dietary options to opening hours, the assistant aims to streamline the often frustrating process of restaurant research. But in an era of sweeping automation, is AI really the solution [...]
Union threatens LA Olympics strike and issues $5bn demand August 26, 2025 The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has been threatened with strike action by a union demanding a $5bn investment in local housing. The Unite Here Local 11 union has issued a list of demands ahead of the next Olympiad, insisting their 32,000 members could strike over the Olympics if they’re not listened to. They have asked [...]
Airbnb gets into bed with Fifa with last-minute Club World Cup deal June 13, 2025 Fifa has signed up Airbnb as a last-minute commercial partner for the Club World Cup, which starts tomorrow in the US. Airbnb will offer “official fan accommodation” as part of a three-year deal with Fifa that also includes next summer’s men’s World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, and the 2027 [...]
Can Airbnb become an everything app? May 20, 2025 Airbnb is undergoing a bold transformation from a travel platform to a daily-use “superapp” offering local services and experiences, but its success hinges on whether users adopt new habits outside of their holidays, says Paul Armstrong Airbnb is having a busy 2025. The company reported $2.27bn in revenue for Q1, a six per cent year-over-year [...]
Airbnb: Top UK and Northern European boss checks out March 4, 2025 Airbnb’s top boss in the UK and Northern Europe is to step down after four years in the role. Amanda Cupples was appointed general manager for the region in March 2021 and was responsible for UK, Ireland, Netherlands and the Nordics. Australian Cupples joined Airbnb from digital health company Babylon Health where she was first [...]
HMRC launches fresh tax crackdown on ‘side-hustlers’ selling online February 26, 2025 HMRC has launched a fresh crackdown on online sellers with a side-hustle who don’t report their income to the Treasury. The ‘One to Many’ letter campaign will ‘nudge’ individuals suspected of operating in the hidden economy. It will be based on data HMRC has received from online marketplaces. The campaign is intended to prompt sellers [...]
Reddit backer funds weapons start-up focused on ‘budget missiles’ August 26, 2024 Start-up incubator Y Combinator, which has backed companies such as Airbnb, Reddit and Coinbase, has made its first ever investment in a weapons company, which plans to produce “budget missiles” for the US military. Ares Industries, which is based in California, aims to produce “smaller, less expensive cruise missiles” for the US Department of Defence [...]