Business travel management firm AirPlus International and hospitality company Airbnb are developing a new integrated solution for the booking, payment and billing of business-related travel.
The expert in payment solutions in business travel management and the world's leading community-driven hospitality company will be introducing a fully automated solution during the coming year providing business travelers with a combination of best in class payment and travel management solutions with over 2.5 million accommodation choices across the world.
Today AirPlus customers are able to book and pay for stays on Airbnb with the virtual credit card A.I.D.A.. A virtual MasterCard credit card number is first generated in the AirPlus portal or via a mobile phone, which is then used when paying on Airbnb.
Integrated Payment Process
The companies are working on an integrated payment process so that the traveler will be able to book accommodation on Airbnb and automatically centrally bill the corporate account. Travel managers can ensure optimal transparency and perform data analysis with additional information such as cost center, project or employee number.
«More and more business travelers wish to make use of the flexibility that the sharing economy offers. At the same time, travel managers wish to track compliance and costs,» said Patrick W. Diemer, Managing Director of AirPlus. «Together with Airbnb, we are pleased to combine flexible booking, automated payment and billing as well as transparent cost management into a single solution,» he added.
Without Missing the Comforts of Home
«We are excited to be partnering with AirPlus making it even more convenient for business travelers to choose Airbnb when booking business trips,» said Lex Bayer, Group Head of Business Development, Payments, and Airbnb for Business. «Airbnb for Business makes it possible to travel for work without having to miss out on the comforts of home and providing additional payment options through AirPlus will help us better support the growing popularity of Airbnb with both the corporate traveler and travel manager,» he added.
In 2016 Airbnb for Business tripled in growth with more and more business travelers recognizing the many benefits Airbnb offers. Travel managers can easily manage travel data through the Airbnb for Business dashboard, a one stop dashboard that provides a full and comprehensive insight into employee’s travel plans including bills, business travel ready homes, corporate reporting and duty of care options giving them better insight into the full employee experience.
