Airbnb Goes In On Corporate Travel Payments

Airbnb is making significant gains in corporate booking levels, and on Friday (Nov. 11), the company announced a major plan to target even more of the enterprise market.

Airbnb revealed a new partnership with business travel management firm AirPlus International to develop a holistic business travel solution, including travel booking, payment, billing and expense management.

According to their announcement, the joint venture will develop an integrated payments platform, allowing businesses to book accommodations via Airbnb and bill corporate accounts straight from the interface.

“More and more business travelers wish to make use of the flexibility that the sharing economy offers,” explained AirPlus Managing Director Patrick W. Diemer in a statement. “Together with Airbnb, we are pleased to combine flexible booking, automated payment and billing, as well as transparent cost management into a single solution.”

In another statement, Airbnb for Business Group Head of Business Development and Payments Lex Bayer pointed to the convenience business travelers can gain from a streamlined billing and payments system with Airbnb.

“Airbnb for Business makes it possible to travel for work without having to miss out on the comforts of home, and providing additional payment options through AirPlus will help us better support the growing popularity of Airbnb with both the corporate traveler and travel manager,” Bayer stated.

The new solution will roll out next year, the companies said.

Airbnb’s announcement follows only days after travel and expense management firm Concur released new figures on business use of Airbnb. The company found a 42 percent increase in the value of corporate bookings at Airbnb between 2015 and 2016, with SMEs making particular gains with the service.

Earlier this year, American Express Global Business Travel announced another collaboration with Airbnb to help businesses streamline travel booking through a referral program and connecting payment data into the GBT platform.