Key Details:
HotelTonight, the last-minute hotel booking app acquired by Airbnb in 2019, just launched a new perk on Wednesday. Users in the US and UK now get 10% of their booking value back as an Airbnb credit whenever they book a stay through the HotelTonight app.
This is the first major guest-facing integration between the two platforms since Airbnb bought HotelTonight, and potentially signals a new direction in Airbnb's approach to keep customers coming back.
How It Works
- Users book hotel stays via HotelTonight and earn 10% of their booking amount back as an Airbnb credit.
- After completing their stay, users link their Airbnb account to claim their credits, which are automatically credited for future Airbnb bookings.
- Credits are stackable, valid for one year from the stay date, and can be accumulated across multiple stays, incentivizing repeated use.
For example: a $500 hotel stay generates $50 in Airbnb credit, encouraging first-time Airbnb users or enhancing existing Airbnb users’ loyalty.
Background Context: Airbnb’s Resistance to Traditional Loyalty Programs
Airbnb has always avoided typical loyalty perks like hotel points systems or branded credit card partnerships, relying instead on brand identity and people simply loving their service.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky doesn't hide his dislike for traditional points-based loyalty schemes, viewing them as ineffective subsidies: "It's quite literally a subsidy. You're taking your most valuable people and you're making them a little less valuable."
Chesky's philosophy is straightforward - product excellence is Airbnb's primary loyalty strategy: "The best loyalty program is building a product people love so much they want to come back. We don’t have to pay them to come back."
Expected Impact on Airbnb Bookings
This move is expected to boost Airbnb's booking growth by bringing in new users, encouraging repeat bookings, and building cross-platform loyalty in ways Airbnb hasn’t tried before.
Notably, it does so without launching a full-fledged loyalty points program on Airbnb itself. What's clever is that the credits are earned via HotelTonight, which subtly pushes customers from hotels toward Airbnb stays.
By tying HotelTonight and Airbnb together through these credits, Airbnb is building a mini-ecosystem of travel products that keeps customers within Airbnb’s family of services.
Our Take:
It's good for business
A customer who uses both services will likely become more loyal to Airbnb overall.
Think about it: If you’re an avid HotelTonight user, you’ll build up a stash of Airbnb credits and be more likely to book your next vacation on Airbnb (to redeem those credits) instead of on a competing platform.
And if you're already an Airbnb fan who sometimes needs hotels, you'll pick HotelTonight over, say, Booking.com or Expedia for hotel nights to earn those Airbnb credits. This encourages cross-platform engagement and would increase the lifetime value of customers by keeping them in Airbnb’s ecosystem.
Essentially, it’s a strategic loop: hotel stays earn credits → credits lead to Airbnb stays → which might lead back to more HotelTonight bookings when a hotel is needed, and so on. This loop drives repeat usage (retention) across both the home-rental and hotel sides of the business.
What does this mean for Airbnb hosts? Great news! More hotel users trying Airbnb means more potential guests for your listing → more bookings → more money in your pocket.
New precedents are being set
This move is big news given Airbnb's usual stance against loyalty programs:
- The first reward system: This is Airbnb's first try at a credit-based reward program, unlike competitors who've had them for years.
- Growing the customer base: Hotel Tonight’s General Manager Ron Sandel explicitly stated in an interview with Skift the program's intent to serve as a customer acquisition channel: "Nine of 10 nights are booked at hotels, and so we think this is a great way to bring our audience to Airbnb."
- Smarter marketing: By linking accounts, Airbnb gains visibility into Hotel Tonight customers' travel habits, and can send personalized suggestions. For example: Airbnb can see that a given user just had a 2-night stay in California via Hotel Tonight and now has $30 in Airbnb credit. Airbnb could then market an “extended stay” at an Airbnb in the same city, or send personalized suggestions (“Ready for a vacay? Use your credits on a cabin retreat!”) essentially upselling longer stays or unique trips that hotels can’t easily provide.
- Building a bigger platform: This collab moves Airbnb closer to becoming a one-stop travel shop for where you stay, what you do, and how you get around. Having interconnected rewards encourages users to remain within the Airbnb ecosystem for all their travel needs, rather than switching to competitors.
Future Outlook: What's Next?
This Hotel Tonight perk could be just the beginning of something bigger. In the latest post-earnings conference call, Chesky stated Airbnb’s goal was to become the “Amazon of travel”
Could this mean an Amazon Prime-style membership is coming? Chesky has hinted at it: "I think a paid membership is also interesting." Such a model would presumably offer premium features, services, or exclusive access in exchange for membership fees.
This approach would let Airbnb make money from loyalty rather than lose money on it, which fits with their resistance to traditional points programs.
Bottom Line
This is a win for Airbnb hosts. By funneling hotel users into the Airbnb world, this program should drive more new guests to the platform, giving hosts more exposure, more bookings, and better long-term growth opportunities.
