Airlines Bunk Up With Airbnb to Appeal to Key Demographics

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    airbnb-trips
    Airbnb’s Trips platform, launched last week, allows users to choose from types of experiences and places, with flight booking and additional services expected in the future. Image via Airbnb

    APEX Insight: Last week, Airbnb launched a platform that moves beyond accommodations into Experiences, Places and Homes, with plans to eventually make inroads into flights and other services. But Airbnb Trips isn’t the home-sharing platform’s first foray into the air travel industry; its booming customer base has made it a much sought-after partner for airlines.

    When Airbnb opened its doors in 2008, it disrupted the tourism industry; today, it’s a household name with twice the number of listings worldwide as Marriott International and Starwood Hotels combined. Despite ongoing regulatory disputes surrounding Airbnb, its pull amongst travelers is indisputable – so much so that even legacy carriers want to bunk up.

    Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines announced that it had become the latest airline to update its loyalty points scheme with an Airbnb tie-up. Delta’s frequent flyers can now earn one mile per dollar spent on Airbnb stays booked directly through delta.com/airbnb. The agreement, which aims to boost traffic to the airline’s website, is similar to previous ones inked with Qantas and Virgin America.

    KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Lufthansa were creative with their attempts at tapping the home-sharing platform’s notoriety. In December 2014, KLM refurbished an airplane at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport into a pop-up apartment for rent on Airbnb. And this past summer, Lufthansa began listing empty seats on the home-sharing platform.

    KLM Airbnb
    In December 2014, KLM refurbished an airplane at Schiphol Airport into a pop-up apartment for rent on Airbnb. Image via KLM

    In addition to increasing website traffic and presenting a new spending incentive, these partnerships may help full-service airlines prove their relevance to the budget traveler, amid increased competition from low-cost carriers. Brand alignment may not easily transfer to dollar figures, but it can help shape customer perception. In this case, airlines that have aligned with the online accommodations marketplace indirectly purport to sharing the same values of affordability, sustainability and collaboration.

    Airbnb’s recent explosive growth in the business travel market means that partnerships with the homestay company can be beneficial for airlines hoping to strengthen ties with that demographic as well. Airbnb secured over 1,000 corporate clients in more than 35 countries within one month of launching its global travel management suite last year, and the company says it now sees a near 15,000 signing up each week. Furthermore, listings on the company’s website now specify whether they are business travel-ready, meaning they offer 24-hour check-in, business amenities, such as Wi-Fi, an iron and a hairdryer, and are run by reliable hosts.

    According to Airbnb’s regional director of the Asia-Pacific market, Julian Persaud, the development owes itself to millennial business travelers who tend to steer away from generic, impersonal experiences: “Millennial employees have higher expectations of how they spend their time and want to move away from traditional methods,” Persaud said. “They’re the ones knocking on the doors of their boss, saying, ‘hey, we want to do this.’ “