Airbnb’s Rival Gaining Ground

Airbnb only recently began to regard travel giant Booking Holdings as a threat. But internal projections from the two companies suggest that the two may be neck and neck in the race to rent rooms outside traditional hotels, The Information has learned.

Airbnb internally projects it will sell 255 million to 265 million “room nights”—a measure of occupancy—this year, although it hopes to lift that number to nearer 280 million, according to a person briefed on the matter. That’s in the same ballpark as Booking Holdings, which includes Booking.com and Priceline.com, whose executives have told people in the industry they expect to sell 270 million room nights of “alternative accommodations,” such as apartments, bed and breakfasts, and villas this year.