Airbnb Broadens Booking Business with Grocery, Hotel & Travel Tech Services
Popular global home and apartment rental platform Airbnb has announced a major business expansion beyond its familiar boundaries. From the summer of this year, the company is set to launch a range of new and attractive services for tourists worldwide, including hotel bookings and even grocery delivery services for essential daily items from the comfort of their accommodations.
Over the past decade, Airbnb has gradually expanded the scope of its services beyond just home rentals. However, this latest update has primarily been designed to bring all the needs of travelers into a single app.
Special Offers to Compete with Booking.com and Agoda At the initial stage, Airbnb is adding thousands of boutique and privately owned hotels in major tourist cities around the world — including New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, and Singapore — to its listings. Airbnb stated that it is mainly selecting hotels with a more unique and homely atmosphere compared to conventional hotels.
To remain competitive against popular platforms such as Booking.com and Agoda, Airbnb has announced special discounts for customers. The company has promised price matching if the same hotel is found elsewhere at a lower rate. In addition, customers will receive up to 15 percent credit or cashback on selected hotel bookings, which can later be used for other reservations.
Food Will Be Waiting in the Fridge Before Arrival! Alongside hotel stays, Airbnb is now introducing grocery delivery services directly within its app. In addition to using the service at any time during travel, tourists in selected cities will be able to pre-order their preferred food or essential products before arrival. Hosts or property owners will arrange the products inside the accommodation before guests arrive.
This delivery service will be completely free for Airbnb guests. Additionally, orders worth 50 dollars or more will receive a direct discount of 10 dollars. Currently, the service is being launched in partnership with the renowned delivery app Instacart across 25 cities in the United States. This feature is expected to greatly benefit tourists by helping them avoid the hassle of using local apps while abroad.
Car Rentals, Luggage Storage, and Airport Pickup To make transportation more convenient for customers, Airbnb has signed an agreement with Welcome Pickups. In 160 cities worldwide, drivers under this service will track customers’ flight schedules and remain present at airports for pickup. Customers booking through the Airbnb app will receive a 20 percent discount.
To address luggage storage issues, the company has partnered with a firm named Bounce. Before a room or hotel accommodation is ready, users will be able to check through the app exactly how far the nearest luggage drop-off location is located. In addition, direct car rental services through the app are also being introduced this summer.
Taj Mahal Tours and FIFA World Cup Experiences To enhance entertainment opportunities for travelers, Airbnb is adding thousands of new options to its ‘Experience List’. These will include special tour packages for famous attractions such as India’s Taj Mahal and Japan’s Tokyo Skytree. Alongside special events centered on the food cultures of different countries, Airbnb will also offer exciting experiences such as exclusive football parties with former world champions in six host cities of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
DBTech/BMT/OR
