Airbnb Inc. revealed on Wednesday that it is broadening its travel-related services beyond short-term lodging, introducing luggage storage, airport pickups and vehicle and equipment rentals as part of a wider push to address traveler needs.
The company said it will partner with Bounce, a luggage storage platform that operates via retail stores, hotels and locker rental sites in 175 cities. Bounce will let travelers leave bags before check-in or after checkout for a fee when booking through the Airbnb app.
For airport transfers, Airbnb said it is expanding private car pickups in major markets outside the United States through a collaboration with Welcome Pickups, an airport transfer provider.
The luggage storage agreement follows last year’s arrangement with Instacart to bring grocery-stocking to Airbnb’s app. Airbnb said it is enlarging that grocery-stocking service to cover more than 25 U.S. cities, and Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky said talks are underway with other companies to offer similar grocery-stocking overseas.
Chesky described the objective as creating an ecosystem of services aimed at resolving common travel pain points. Airbnb will take a commission from third-party providers on most of these new offerings - typically in the range of 10% to 15% - with the exception of grocery delivery, which is treated differently.
Looking ahead, Airbnb plans to introduce additional services during the year. The company said it will add car rentals this summer through an undisclosed partner. It is also testing roughly half a dozen more services, and specifically cited equipment rentals for items like skis as an example of the kinds of offerings under consideration.
Chesky has projected that the services segment combined with experiences that let travelers book activities could contribute $1 billion or more in revenue annually. He cautioned, however, that it may take several years before these new product lines become a material component of Airbnb’s overall business.
In parallel with the service rollouts, Airbnb said it will list more boutique hotels on its platform. At launch, guests can find boutique hotel inventory across 20 global destinations, including New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome and Singapore, and the company indicated additional cities will be added during the year.
To stimulate early adoption of partner services, Airbnb is offering promotional discounts at launch. Customers who book Bounce storage through the Airbnb app receive 15% off for an unlimited time. Grocery-stocking promotions include free delivery plus $10 off orders of $50 or more. Airport pickup bookings through the platform are discounted by 20% through June.
The package of partnerships and pilot services underscores Airbnb’s strategy to layer complementary offerings atop its core short-term rental marketplace. The company’s stated commission structure for third-party services and its timetable for rolling out car rentals and tested services are explicit components of that plan, while Chesky’s revenue target and timeline signal a long-term view on the contribution of services to Airbnb’s business mix.