Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
The disruptive hospitality service company Airbnb, which focuses on short term rentals, says its working with the multifamily housing industry to ensure the long-term future of its main market.
Airbnb said last week it’s introducing new tools and products, and signing new partnerships with industry players, aimed at boost its Friendly Buildings Program.
Airbnb’s Friendly Buildings Program was launched in 2016, but now the company is taking decisive steps to bring it into the mainstream, Skift reported.
A spokesperson for the company said its been working with REITs and private ownership groups for more than two years to boost the program’s adoption rate in the multifamily market.
Now, Airbnb says it wants to create new application programming interfaces for multifamily property owners and operators. The idea is they can integrate Airbnb’s property management technology with software platforms such as Yardi, RealPage, Appfolio and Entrata.
The announcement comes at a time when controversy around Airbnb is growing, as the company is embroiled in numerous legal battles in markets it operates in that could shape the future of the short term rental market in many cities and nations.
However, Airbnb’s Friendly Buildings Program can be seen as an olive branch of sorts, as it’s an attempt to bring the company and traditional players together in what the company says can be a “win-win solution” for everyone.
The program is designed for building owners and operators, residents and Airbnb to split the revenues of short-term rental bookings. Owners and residents must first come to an agreement on the revenue split, however. These resident/owner revenue splits could help bring about a competitive advantage as demand for short-term rentals continues to rise, Airbnb said.
Airbnb is also creating additional online and offline educational resources for residents to learn about home sharing.
