Tag Archives: Travel Organizations

Uber is reportedly exploring an Expedia takeover

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Uber is reportedly exploring the idea of purchasing Expedia, one of the largest travel booking companies in the world, according to the Financial Times. Expedia, which is valued at $20 billion and which reported its highest-ever annual revenue in 2023, will be the company's biggest acquisition, if the deal does indeed push through. The Times says it's very early days, however, and Uber hasn't even made a formal offer for the travel company yet. It's still in the process of studying the implications of acquiring Expedia and has, over the past months, worked with advisers to figure out whether the deal is feasible and how it would be structured. 

The company's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, may have to sit out deal discussions, seeing as he used to be CEO of Expedia before he was hired by the ride-hailing service in 2017. He's still in its Board of Directors, as well. It doesn't sound like Khosrowshahi was the one who suggested the potential purchase, though — in its report, the Times said the idea was "broached by a third party."

Uber has had plans to become a wider travel booking platform for a while now. Khosrowshahi said he wanted Uber to be the "Amazon of transportation" from the time he joined the company. Since then, the ride-hailing service has added train, bus and flight bookings in some markets, and it has also made several large acquisitions. It purchased online food delivery service Postmates for $2.65 billion and alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion before shutting it down three years later. The company also teamed up with Waymo and Cruise to offer autonomous rides in certain markets. As the Times notes, Uber became profitable for the first time in 2023 due to a renewed demand for rides and food delivery and could be a in a good position to acquire a company as big as Expedia. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uber-is-reportedly-exploring-an-expedia-takeover-120038754.html?src=rss

Airbnb hosts can get discounts on EV chargers

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You might start to see more Airbnb properties with EV accommodations in the future. The online platform is teaming up with ChargePoint to get more Airbnb hosts to install EV chargers, Business Wire reports. The partnership means Airbnb hosts can access an exclusive ChargePoint package and save money. 

ChargePoint is giving Airbnb hosts 25 percent off whichever charger they pick and another $100 off installation fees. Chargers start at $399, meaning customers will get at least $100 off on that purchase alone. However, the installation deal is only available when purchased through the Airbnb page on ChargePoint's website. Airbnb is also giving another $200 off charging hardware for the first 1,000 Airbnb hosts to make purchases.

The partnership could lead to greater success for hosts. According to Airbnb, searches for properties with EV chargers increased by over 80 percent between 2022 and 2023. Also, it claims that, on average, listings with EV chargers get more income and nights booked than those without one. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/airbnb-hosts-can-get-discounts-on-ev-chargers-122954626.html?src=rss

Airbnb to hosts: please stop filming the guests

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Have you ever wondered if your visit to an Airbnb included being on candid camera? Well, there's good news for you and your stress levels because you really shouldn't have to worry about it soon. Airbnb has announced new privacy policies that entirely ban the use of indoor cameras. 

Previously, the company allowed hosts to keep cameras in communal spaces but banned them in areas like bedrooms and bathrooms. Hosts were technically supposed to disclose any cameras in the rental location, but this shift removes any ambiguity (or issues for most of us who don't read the entire listing description).

In addition to banning indoor cameras, Airbnb has also limited the use of outdoor ones. Hosts have to disclose any outdoor cameras on the property and these cameras can't point indoors or be in areas with a "greater expectation of privacy," like outdoor showers or saunas. They can also use doorbell cameras and noise decibel monitors. However, the latter also requires disclosure and can only assess decibel levels, not record or send sounds. Airbnb hosts can only place these in common spaces. 

Any host found to violate these policies can have their listing or entire account removed by Airbnb. If you have spring travels planned, remember to read your listing thoroughly to find out about any cameras — the new rules don't go into effect until April 30.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/airbnb-to-hosts-please-stop-filming-the-guests-144537408.html?src=rss

Airbnb will let hosts send you smart lock codes through its app

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Winter is almost upon us and Airbnb has announced a new feature that could help folks avoid fumbling for keys while wearing a bunch of layers. Starting in the US and Canada later this year, Airbnb hosts who are in the invite-only Early Access program will be able to link compatible smart locks to their Airbnb account and automatically generate a unique code for each reservation. The code will be activated at a guest's check-in time and deactivated at checkout. 

Guests will be able to see their smart lock code in the Airbnb app. At the outset, Airbnb will support some models from Schlage, August and Yale.

This could make some Airbnb pain points much easier to deal with. Hosts won't have to worry about bad actors sharing entry codes with other people after they check out, and guests should find it more straightforward to find and enter their code without having to search for their reservation email.

Airbnb is making a string of other changes as part of its winter update. You'll be able to access a collection of the 2 million most-loved homes on the platform. These Guest Favorites all have an average rating of above 4.9 with high marks for things like value, the check in process, cleanliness, listing accuracy, host communication and location. Hosts of Guest Favorites will all have strong track records of reliability and almost two-thirds of the listings are from Superhosts.

You'll soon start seeing a badge denoting a listing as a Guest Favorite on the listing page and in search results. There'll also be an option to filter results by Guest Favorites.

Elsewhere, you'll be able to sort reviews by recency or rating, while a new chart should make the distribution of reviews on the five-star scale easier to grok. When you leave a review, you'll be able to include more details that may be useful for context, such as where you're from, how long you stayed and whether you traveled with family, another group or pets. Airbnb is starting to roll out the reviews and Guest Favorites updates this week.

Since last year, Airbnb has been making its pricing more transparent. To that end, service fees will now be included in the prices that hosts set. According to Airbnb, that will give hosts a better idea of how much guests are paying overall. It should be easier for hosts to compare their prices to similar listings through the calendar too.

Hosts will have access to other new listing tools, such as an AI-powered photo tour. Airbnb says its AI engine can recognize photos and assign them to up to 19 rooms to help guests better understand the layouts of properties. Hosts will be able to edit the photo tour whenever they like and pinpoint amenities in each room.

Correction 11/8 4:15PM ET: A previous version of this story and its headline indicated that guests would be able to open smart locks from the Airbnb app, but that's not the case. We apologize for the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/airbnb-will-soon-let-you-open-smart-locks-in-its-app-192753343.html?src=rss