Airbnb looks to attract business travelers with the help of American Express
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- 13 Jul 2020
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American Express Global Business Travel is partnering with Airbnb to add home-sharing accommodations to corporate travel programs.
While Airbnb does offer its own business travel portal, this is its first deal with another company in the $1.25 trillion global business travel industry.
The goal of the referral partnership is to make Airbnb easily accessible to American Express GBT users. The program will allow for data transfers between the companies, tracking capabilities, and greater variety of choice when it comes to where users stay.
Once the program has launched, GBT will refer customers to Airbnb, where they will be able to book their accommodations using a corporate email address.
"While business travelers want the freedom to choose different types of accommodations, traveler safety and security is a top priority for companies worldwide," American Express stated in a press release.
The partnership between GBT and Airbnb is separate from the deal Amex already has for cardholders. It is expected to go live in the United States over the next few weeks, and will roll out in other countries in late 2016.
Business travelers (and their travel budgets) will be an important market for Airbnb as it looks to grow its user base and bring in enough money to justify its large valuation.
Airbnb has reportedly been fundraising at a valuation of around $30 billion. That makes it far more valuable than other hotel giants, including Hilton Worldwide ($23.7 billion) and Marriott ($18.22 billion).
