GoKawiilAirbnb’s core business was letting users book a room or a whole property owned by someone else. In most cases, the host would be a house or a property owner, and you would get a stay with basic services such as a bed, a bath, and a kitchen. The company is now introducing hotels to its platform to drive new revenue and offer more options for travelers to book stays.
The company has been testing out hotel listings for a few months and is officially adding a filter to search for them in its app. Initially, the travel tech company is partnering with boutique hotels in 20 cities, including New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, and Singapore.
Image Credits: Airbnb Image Credits:Airbnb
Users will see a pop-up to look at hotels if they are searching for a stay for one or two nights in a city. They can also choose to see only hotels by applying a particular filter in the search. Airbnb said that it is offering a price match guarantee and would refund the difference in app credits if you find the listing at a lower rate somewhere else.
“There are a few examples of the types of trips for which a hotel is probably better suited, such as last-minute bookings, one-night stays, and business trips. What we’ve done in the Airbnb app is that when we can see you’re searching for that kind of stay, we can recommend hotels without sending you to another part of the app or tapping on another tab,” Jud Coplan, VP of marketing at Airbnb, told TechCrunch in a call.
For Airbnb, this is also an opportunity to offer stays to travelers in locations like New York City and Singapore, where short-term stays are barred.
Property booking is just one part of the equation now for Airbnb. The company also wants users to book experiences and services, which were launched last year, during their trip as well. In the last few months, the company has launched grocery delivery to properties and airport pickup services. With its summer launch, Airbnb is adding luggage storage in over 15,000 locations. Plus, it will launch car rental services this summer.
Image Credits: Airbnb Image Credits:Airbnb
Within experiences, the company is adding visits with local guides for 3,000 landmarks. It is also adding more than 2,500 food experiences in the mix. With these offerings, Airbnb will try to compete better with Viator or GetYourGuide.
Airbnb is redesigning the app to accommodate all the different parts, such as stays, experiences, and services. On the home page, users will see suggestions for all categories. But they can switch to individual tabs and look at a particular offering, too.
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