It looks like Airbnb, Inc. is trying to get into the business of booking air travel with a new service that it's trying to develop. But one competitor is not worried about it, saying a lot has already tried to enter into the business but was unsuccessful.
People familiar with the plans told Bloomberg that Airbnb's flight-booking service is still in early development. The project is known as "Flight" within the company.
The people, who asked not to be identified, said that Airbnb is looking to get its Flight service up and running in the next 18 months. The company wants to come out with Flight first before they try and make Airbnb public.
The latest move is not surprising for Airbnb, which investors value at $30 billion this year. The company, which started in 2008, has been hoping to find a new source of revenue and it looks like they set their sights in online flight booking.
Aside from its Flight service, Airbnb is also considering other avenues of breaking into the business, the people add. This could mean acquiring an online travel agency or license data from a provider.
With Airbnb planning to enter the online flight booking market, what would it mean for the industry? One flight search website, though, doesn't seem fazed by the news.
Telegraph reported that CEO Steve Hafner of Kayak, a flight search website operated by Priceline Group, Inc., said in a conference a lot of accommodation have already tried entering the competitive flight search market but was only met with failure.
"I'm not really worried about Airbnb getting into flights," Hafner said. This shows that it won't be an easy journey for Airbnb to make a dent in the online flight booking market. In other news, Airbnb can now cater to tourists who want to travel to Jamaica, recently signing an agreement with the Jamaican Tourist Board.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
