We aim to go beyond the traditional landmarks list: Airbnb Global CFO Mertz

India is an exciting market not just from a demographic point of view, but also because the government wants to make tourism a much bigger portion of the economy, says Mertz

Experiences will be the new frontier of growth for vacation rental company Airbnb, said its global Chief Financial Officer, Ellie Mertz. In an interview in New Delhi with Akshara Srivastava and Gulveen Aulakh, she said the company is betting big on the Indian growing middle class and is partnering with the government to accelerate business growth in one of its fastest-growing markets globally. Edited excerpts: 

 

What are Airbnb’s key growth opportunities in the global market?

 

We delivered incredible scale with nearly $82 billion in gross booking value (GBV) in 2024 and there are three major growth opportunities for us. The