Last week, Airbnb acquired , the wildly popular last-minute booking app, and while both companies are staying mum on their grand plans, this is likely just another听step toward accommodations domination.
Acquisitions like this aren鈥檛 necessarily a good thing, but this one just might be a boon for travelers wanting to compare all types of accommodations in a single app or who are planning on booking stays in multiple types of lodging鈥攕ay an Airstream one night, a boutique hotel the next鈥攁ll in one place. But we鈥檒l break it all down for you.
Let鈥檚 Start with a听Brief History of Airbnb
Airbnb began in 2007 in San Francisco as a way for a few broke roommates to make a some extra bucks by renting out a room in their house equipped with air mattresses (hence the name). The website and app evolved, allowing people to rent and book rooms, homes, and even backyard tree houses when their owners weren鈥檛 using them. Today it鈥檚 a massive business with over 5 million places to stay in 191 countries.
Over the past several years听the company has continued to diversify, adding in 2016, which allows users to book activities like bike excursions, surf lessons, and city tours. In 2018, it also added boutique hotels to its catalogue, as well as for luxury accommodations and , which allows you to book business travel accommodations, meeting spaces, and team experiences. 听
Remind Me, What鈥檚 HotelTonight exactly?
HotelTonight is a slick discount-hotel booking app, offering cut-rate room prices听at nice hotels鈥攑retty much all three stars and up鈥攊n most major cities. Founded in 2010, the company began by partnering with hotels to offer unsold rooms for cheap, but in 2017听it expanded to allow customers to book 100 days in advance, making them a solid competitor听to Booking, Expedia, Priceline, and other sites.
All hotels listed on HotelTonight are vetted with rooms categorized by type鈥攕uch as Luxe, Hip, Charming, or Basic鈥攎aking it easy to find the vibe you鈥檙e looking for. Its rewards program also provides additional discounts.
Why Would Airbnb Acquire HotelTonight?
From legal fights with cities and vacation-rental companies to negative press about its assualt on local long-term-rental markets, Airbnb has seen its share of pushback over the years. This expansion into more traditional lodging could be a safeguard against the capping short-term rentals, though听Airbnb declined to comment on specifics around whether this influenced the purchase.
But mainly听it鈥檚 an opportunity to tap into the growing hotel market: there鈥檚 still a vast segment of people who prefer hotel amenities,听aren鈥檛 comfortable sleeping in strangers鈥 homes, or simply don鈥檛 want to deal with the hassle of coordinating with hosts.听A found that millennials prefer full-service hotels to short-term apartment rentals by a margin of more than two to one.
So, What Changes Will I See?
According to the companies, not much any time soon. In an email response, an Airbnb spokesperson said, 鈥淥ver time, we will welcome select boutique HotelTonight rooms that match our hotel standards onto Airbnb.鈥 He referenced听, an eight-room inn in Encinitas, California, run by a former home host who offers surf lessons for听guests.
Airbnb maintains that each company will remain separate entities for the near future, saying that guests might just be invited to search for accommodations on HotelTonight if they can鈥檛 find a place to stay on Airbnb. But don鈥檛 expect that to last. According to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, the acquisition is 鈥渁 big part of building an end-to-end travel platform.鈥
Clearly听this merger helps transition the company听toward a one-stop shop for all things travel, and with Airbnb鈥檚 of the former chief executive of Virgin America, maybe even expansion into the transportation sector as well. Then perhaps it will even add services like last-minute campsites, camper-van rentals, and super-discounted adventure trips. Or maybe that鈥檚 just dreaming.