Following the news on the 7th March 2019 that San Francisco-based travel giant, Airbnb  has agreed to acquire Hotel Tonight, 

Nick Wyatt, Head of R&A, Travel & Tourism at GlobalData, offers his view on the deal:

“Airbnb’s long-stated aim is to create what it calls ‘an end-to-end travel platform’ and acquiring Hotel Tonight makes perfect sense in this context.

“Airbnb is almost certain to undertake an initial public offering, most likely in 2020, and potential investors will be enthusiastic about this move as it pushes the company further into the hotel booking business, thus diversifying its revenue streams.

“Buying Hotel Tonight increases its presence as an intermediary and this helps, to some extent, to mitigate the risks associated with city authorities clamping down on short-term rentals. Investors will very much see this as a positive.

“The relationship between online travel agents is increasingly strained as hotel operators look to negotiate down commission rates, but ultimately the relationship is mutually beneficial and this is a great addition to Airbnb’s portfolio of services.”