Airbnb Qantas tie up infuriates the hotel industry
So Qantas has teamed up with Airbnb in a deal that riles hotel and tourism players.
This could be an issue for Qantas which has always worked with its traditional hotel partners.
The plan is simple: the arrangement provides the airline’s 11.4 million frequent flyer members with the ability to earn one point for every dollar they spend on an Airbnb room or property.
All passengers have to do is enter their frequent-flyer details and click through to the Airbnb website via a dedicated portal on the Qantas website.
Clearly, Qantas has zeroed in on one of the economy’s growth sectors.
People use Airbnb to make a bit of money on the side by renting out a private room or their home to travellers. The idea is to offer people on the road a live-like-a-local experience.
Airbnb is massive: it boasts 2.5 million listings, from treehouses to castles, in almost every country, and it’s growing.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the airline is building partnerships with "innovative digital and technology businesses."
"Qantas has always looked for ways to reinvent airline travel, just like Airbnb has done for accommodation," Mr Joyce told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We know many of our customers are just as likely to arrange an Airbnb as they are to book a hotel, and we wanted to recognise and reward them for that.”
In a sense, it’s a logical fit with more travellers turning to the digital accommodation platform rather than traditional hotels to book their holidays.
Hotels and tourism operators however are unimpressed. They see it as a slap in the face from one of their long-term partners.
"These unregulated short-term accommodation operators do not have in place the consumer safety and community amenity regulations and insurances that apply to regulated operators, nor do they pay the requisite fees and taxes," Tourism Accommodation Australia chief Carol Giuseppi told the Australian Financial Review.
by Leon Gettler, October 5th 2016
