From Business Insider · Alistair Barr · · 1m
Microsoft exec shows AI agents can beat Airbnb fees
An AI agent found a vacation rental cheaper on the owner's website, saving 14% and raising questions about platform booking power.
In brief
An AI agent found a vacation rental cheaper on the owner's website, saving 14% and raising questions about platform booking power. Nicolas Bustamante, a Microsoft AI executive, used an AI agent to find the same Airbnb property cheaper on the owner's direct website, saving his family fourteen percent. Originally…
Microsoft executive saves 14% with AI agent
Nicolas Bustamante, an AI executive at Microsoft, shared how an AI agent helped his family save fourteen percent on an Airbnb booking by searching the web for the same property.
Agent found cheaper direct booking option
The AI agent searched for the same property on its own website, checked availability for the same dates, and discovered that booking directly with the owner was cheaper than Airbnb.
Airbnb CEO says agents barely book on platform
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says agents are barely making any bookings on his platform, potentially because they are booking elsewhere instead.
“agents are barely making any bookings on his platform”
In short
Nicolas Bustamante, a Microsoft AI executive, used an AI agent to find the same Airbnb property cheaper on the owner's direct website, saving his family fourteen percent.
