GOOD DAY, READERS.
Airbnb is offering car rentals for the first time, teaming up with Ireland-based CarTrawler to go live in the U.S., France, Italy, Spain, and Australia, Executive Editor Dennis Schaal scoops. Bookings through partners such as Avis, Hertz, Budget, and Enterprise via CarTrawler can earn customers up to 20% (capped at $200) in Airbnb credits toward stays, experiences, and select services.
It's Airbnb's latest step toward becoming a traditional OTA — the company recently introduced scheduled pickups to and from major transit hubs such as airports and railway stations. There's a twist: CarTrawler is poised to become an Expedia brand, which will compete with Airbnb on car rentals.
Skift Global Forum
As Airbnb races to become a full OTA, the rivals setting the terms of that race take the stage in New York.
The CEOs of Booking Holdings and Expedia headline three days on who controls travel's new booking interface.
DON’T MISS THESE STORIES
Airbnb Partners With CarTrawler for Car Rentals in 5 Countries: Scoop
by Dennis Schaal
Airbnb's partnership with CarTrawler on car rentals is Airbnb's latest step toward becoming a traditional online travel agency. CarTrawler is poised to become an Expedia brand, which will compete with Airbnb on car rentals.
The Travel Industry Was Banking on a World Cup Windfall. Here’s What the Numbers Show.
by Bailey Schulz
The World Cup delivered real, rate-driven gains for hotels and short-term rentals. But the impact was barely noticed by U.S. airlines, and the international visitor boom is falling short of expectations.
CLARITYPAY + SKIFT
On Airline Weekly Lounge, ClarityPay CEO Houman Motaharian explains how its JetBlue partnership could turn financing into a loyalty engine. Watch the interview here or wherever you get your podcast at the link below.
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MORNING HEADLINES
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Accor and China's H World are linking their loyalty programs and distribution across 19,000 hotels and 430 million combined members.
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast: Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down why this is bigger than a loyalty play, how cutting OTA commissions from 15% down to 4 or 5% goes straight to the bottom line, and why H World's 310 million members needed Accor's brand recognition as much as Accor needed H World's scale.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
How are public travel companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to understand global market movements. Paid subscribers get full access here.
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