Update 02/26/18: During Airbnb’s last keynote they announced that they would be launching the superguest loyalty program. They plan to offer it to 10,000 guests as a trial this summer, with it being rolled out to the entire userbase by year’s end.
Official @Airbnb account is also asking for benefit ideas:
Superguest, coming soon
Let’s build the world’s best travel membership program together. Tell us: what perks would you want? pic.twitter.com/Bd6tOyPibo
— Airbnb (@Airbnb) February 22, 2018
Original post 01/15/18: Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky sent out the following tweet:
If Airbnb had a guest membership program, what benefits would you want?
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 14, 2018
Fellow co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said he was surprised that Airbnb didn’t already have a loyalty program during the Skift Global Forum last September as well. There are also some interesting replies that Chesky made to suggestions, such as:
Thanks, Greg! Concierge is a great idea (we offer with our lux product) and late check-in is something we will make easier…
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 14, 2018
great idea. special access is a cool idea
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 14, 2018
I’d honestly recommend reading the comment thread (and making your own suggestions). It seems Chesky is less interested in loyalty point/free night suggestions and more interested in actual benefits so I wouldn’t assume that any point program would be added (and if it is they probably don’t need advice on the structure).
So, is it safe to assume that this program isn’t launching “by year’s end”?
I’m been traveling the country for over a year and have been using Airbnb a lot. It seems odd to me that our loyalty hasn’t been acknowledged in any way. I would love to see a points or rewards system in place. Would love to see superguest status initiated!
Probably the biggest issue I have with AirBnB is that cancellation policies are all over the place. If Superguests could get some kind of assurance around this, I would certainly sing their praises.
I don’t know how they will possibly be able to standardize benefits like late checkin, or any traditional hotel-style benefits. The nature of Airbnb is gonna make those pursuits really difficult. I think it would make a lot more sense to just have a points-based reward program for discounts and such
I think that’s one of the reasons they are looking for suggestions. If you notice the ones he replied to that I included in the post one is a concierge number which I assume would be operated by airbnb and then they would contact the host directly and the other is early booking for in demand properties. Neither of those would be difficult to implement
AirBnB already has Plus and Super Hosts. So they can also add an elite designation to certain properties, especially at major cities/destinations, that will offer some kind of increased elite benefits to eligible guests.
Makes sense