Google is offering an on-campus hotel ‘special’ to help lure workers back to the office
Google CEO Sundar Pichai
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Google is hoping to lure workers back to the office with a new on-site hotel special, but some workers aren’t convinced it’s a good deal.
The company said full-time employees can book a room at an on-campus hotel in Mountain View for $99 a night in what it’s deeming a “Summer Special,” according to materials viewed by CNBC. The description states that the special will run through Sept. 30 in hopes it’ll “make it easier for Googlers to transition to the hybrid workplace.”
Since the promotion is for unapproved business travel, the company will not reimburse their stays, but will require employees to use their personal credit cards, the special’s description states.
“Just imagine no commute to the office in the morning and instead, you could have an extra hour of sleep and less friction,” the description reads. “Next, you could walk out of your room and quickly grab a delicious breakfast or get a workout in before work starts.”
The ad goes on to say that after the work day ends, “you could enjoy a quiet evening on top of the rooftop deck or take in one of the fun local activities.”
The Google-owned hotel is situated on a newer campus in Mountain View, California, that it opened last year. The 42-acre campus is adjacent to NASA’s Ames Research Center and has capacity to house 4,000 employees working on its ads products, the company said upon its opening.
The San Francisco Bay Area has some of the highest real estate costs due in part to limited housing supply from decades-old zoning restrictions and elevated demand, most of which comes from high-paying tech workers and executives working in the surrounding tech industry. The city of Mountain View is especially short on housing and contains large swaths of corporate offices — many of which are owned or leased by Google.
A Google spokesperson noted that the company regularly runs specials for employees to take advantage of the company’s spaces and amenities.
‘Where I live is much better’
Some employees have commented on the hotel deal in internal discussion forums.
One highly rated meme showed movie clips that included a scene in the movie “Mean Girls,” where the main character played by Lindsey Lohan says “No, thank you.”
“Now I can give some of my pay back to Google,” another highly rated meme read.
Another meme joked that living on campus for the summer could disrupt “work-life balance.”
At $99 a night, the hotel would amount to roughly $3,000 a month, employees pointed out in internal discussions viewed by CNBC.
One employee pointed out that hotel amenities were not to be ignored. “I pay more and get a lot less in total for my apartment,” wrote one employee in a discussion thread. “Though admittedly where I live is much better.”
Another thought it was still too expensive. “If it was around $60 a night, that could be a fine-ish alternative to apartments, but $99? No thanks.”
“I would’ve totally done it, had it fit a certain profile: $3k rent all-in, fully-furnished, unlimited meals, paid utilities, plus housekeeping/cleaning every day,” another employee wrote.
Another hypothesized the move could be a way to reduce vacancy at the hotel after Google cut corporate travel budgets.
Google began bringing most employees back to physical offices three days a week last year, following several changes in its return-to-office plans that were complicated by spikes in Covid infection rates. However, attendance had been sparse in the months that followed mandatory RTO as workers pushed back, citing high housing costs near offices and higher productivity while working remotely, which corresponded with record profits for the company.
In June, the company became stricter, announcing new enforcements that included using office attendance in performance reviews and tracking badge data. The company’s HR chief even asked already approved remote workers to reconsider their status and rejoin their colleagues in office.
The C3.ai logo is seen near a computer motherboard in this illustration taken on Jan. 8, 2024.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Shares of the enterprise artificial intelligence company C3 AI fell 14% in extended trading on Wednesday after it announced fiscal first-quarter results and the appointment of Stephen Ehikian as its new CEO.
C3 AI reported $70.3 million in revenue for the quarter, down from $87.2 million during the same period last year. The company’s GAAP net loss widened to an 86-cent loss from a 50-cent loss a year ago.
Ehikian is a long-time tech executive who built two companies that were both acquired by Salesforce, C3 AI said. C3 AI said Ehikian assumed the new role on Sept. 1.
C3 AI kicked off a search for a new chief executive in July after its former CEO, Thomas Siebel revealed that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease earlier this year that resulted in “significant visual impairment.”
“C3 AI is one of the most important companies in the AI landscape and enterprise software, with a platform and applications that are unmatched,” Ehikian said. “I am confident that we will be able to capture an increasing share of the immense market opportunity in Enterprise AI.”
The company has had a rocky few months since Siebel’s diagnosis.
Shares plunged in August after C3 AI announced disappointing preliminary financial results and a restructuring of its global sales and services organization.
Siebel said in an August statement that sales results during the quarter were “completely unacceptable.” He attributed the performance to the “disruptive effect” of the reorganization, as well as his ongoing health issues.
Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, sits for an interview in San Francisco on April 25, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Salesforce issued disappointing guidance on Wednesday, even as earnings and revenue topped estimates for the fiscal second quarter. The stock dropped 4% in extended trading.
Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:
- Earnings per share: $2.91 adjusted vs. $2.78 expected
- Revenue: $10.24 billion vs. $10.14 billion expected
Revenue increased 10% from $9.33 billion a year earlier, according to a statement. Net income rose to $1.89 billion, or $1.96 per share, from $1.43 billion, or $1.47 per share, a year ago.
For the fiscal third quarter, management called for $2.84 to $2.86 in adjusted earnings per share on $10.24 billion to $10.29 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had been looking for $2.85 per share on $10.29 billion in revenue.
Salesforce maintained its full-year revenue outlook but now sees higher earnings. The company is targeting $11.33 to $11.37 in adjusted earnings per share on $41.1 billion to $41.3 billion in revenue. The consensus estimate from LSEG was $11.31 in earnings per share and $41.2 billion in revenue. The forecast in May included $11.27 to $11.33 in adjusted earnings per share.
Salesforce has fallen out of favor on Wall Street this year due to an extended stretch of meager revenue growth, which has been stuck in the single digits since mid-2024. While the company regularly touts its investments in artificial intelligence and the advancements in its software and systems, it hasn’t been lifted by the AI boom in the same way as many of its tech peers.
Going into Wednesday’s report, Salesforce was down 23% for the year, lagging behind all but one stock in the Dow and trailing all other large-cap tech companies.
The ratio of Salesforce’s enterprise value to its free cash flow has reached a 10-year low because of fears of disruption from AI, according to analysts at Jefferies, who have a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce is trying to counter the pressure by selling its Agentforce AI software that can automate the handling of customer service questions.
During the fiscal second quarter, Salesforce said it was planning to increase the cost of some products and announced its intent to acquire data management software company Informatica for $8 billion.
Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
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Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, center, appears on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on July 31, 2025. Figma Inc. shares surged as much as 229% after the design software maker and some of its shareholders raised $1.2 billion in an IPO, with the trading valuing the company far above the $20 billion mark it would have reached in a now-scrapped merger with Adobe Inc.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Figma shares plunged 13% in extended trading on Wednesday after the design software company reported results for the first time since its IPO in July.
Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:
- Earnings per share: breakeven
- Revenue: $249.6 million vs. $248.8 million expected
Revenue increased 41% year over year in the second quarter from $177.2 million a year earlier, Figma said in a statement. The company provided a preliminary estimate of $247 million to $250 million in a July regulatory filing. CNBC isn’t including a profit estimate because it’s Figma’s first earnings report.
Net income totaled $846,000, compared with a loss of $827.9 million in the second quarter of 2024. The company’s adjusted operating income came to $11.5 million, after Figma provided a prior estimate of $9 million to $12 million.
For the third quarter, Figma forecast revenue of between $263 million and $265 million, which would represent about 33% growth at the middle of the range. The LSEG consensus was $256.8 million.
The company sees between $88 million and $98 million in adjusted operating income for the full year and a little over $1.02 billion in revenue. The revenue range implies about 37% growth and is above the $1.01 billion LSEG consensus.
Last year, Figma picked up more revenue from customers as it sold them access to Dev Mode, which helps software developers to implement designs that designers create in the company’s software. That momentum is putting a damper on revenue growth for the third quarter, Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field said in an interview.
In the second quarter, Figma announced Figma Make, which uses artificial intelligence to compose app and website designs based on a user’s descriptions, and Figma Sites, which turns designs into working websites. The company also acquired vector graphics startup Modyfi and content management system startup Payload.
Figma has yet to start fully charging for AI products, but says it has built the underlying costs into its model. The company is not providing a forecast for third-quarter adjusted operating income.
A number of software vendors have faced pressure this year due to concerns surrounding AI and whether it will displace business. Field said he’s not seeing that play out internally and that, if anything, the role of designers will only become more critical.
“I think that the more that software becomes easier to build with AI, the more that people are going to see that that human touch is needed,” Field said. He acknowledged that Figma has been adopting so-called vibe-coding tools for AI-driven software development.
Figma reported a 129% net retention rate, a reflection of expansion with existing customers. The figure was down from 132% in the first quarter.
Following its IPO, Figma expects a share sale lockup to expire for 25% some employees’ stock after market close on Sept. 4. Investors holding just over half of Figma’s outstanding Class A stock have agreed to an extended lock-up that will expire in August 2026 for about 35% of their shares.
Field said he wanted to provide clarity for investors.
“That’s something that I think is valuable information,” he said.
On Wednesday the company’s stock closed at $68.13. The company priced shares in its IPO at $33, and saw the stock pop to $115.50 in its debut.
Executives will discuss the second-quarter results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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