An Airbnb Loyalty Program Is In the Works and It Won’t Be Like Marriott Bonvoy
Photo Credit: IPhone apps for OYO, Airbnb Trivago, Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Hotels.com and Hostelworld. Adobe Stock / Koshiro K
Skift Take
Airbnb will launch some type of membership program to give guests a reason to book a hotel on Airbnb rather than earn points elsewhere. It certainly won't be a clone of hotel group loyalty programs — that's not Airbnb's style.
It's highly likely that Airbnb will launch a loyalty or membership program, especially because it has vowed to get much deeper into the hotel business.
The signs are everywhere:
Airbnb is currently evaluating loyalty programs, a source close to Airbnb told Skift on Wednesday. In discussing loyalty, CEO Brian Chesky told reporters in May that “something big is coming” and “we’re kind of in the middle of development right now.” In August, Chesky told financial analysts “a loyalty or membership program is a very, very compelling thing for Airbnb,” and that the company is “sometimes at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis OTAs and hotels” without one. Chesky also said then that he “absolutely thinks you should see something from us in the future. Not imminently, but in the future.” Chesky has long favored a membership program over a points program, as he told Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit in May 2024, and he wants to personalize
