Sammie Ellard-King
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Airbnb executives have discussed launching a loyalty program for years, and now the company is finally running tests.
During last week’s earnings call, CEO Brian Chesky said the company is experimenting with multiple approaches.
“We’re testing different benefits that could be in the loyalty program.
And based on the results of those tests, we’ll eventually package them and release the loyalty program,” Chesky said.
What's Being Tested?
Hosts on Reddit this week discussed a temporary Airbnb promotion that offered “top-rated guests” with 4.8+ ratings and at least three reviews discounts of 10%, 15%, or 20%.
These host-funded discounts for guests are available from February 12 to March 12. In exchange, participating hosts get higher visibility on the platform.
It wasn’t immediately clear if this is one of the loyalty program benefits Chesky was referring to.
More news:
Why Now?
Chesky noted that the company reported strong growth without a loyalty program or sponsored listings – another product Airbnb doesn’t currently offer but has frequently touted as a future possibility.
“So I think that with loyalty, we think that could be a massive accelerant for our company,” he said.
What Will the Loyalty Program Look Like?
Chesky stressed that it wouldn’t be a typical points program. “We want to do something much more unique,” he said.
He’s consistently voiced his dislike for points-based loyalty systems.
In interviews throughout 2024 and 2025, he described such systems as too transactional and not aligned with Airbnb’s brand.
“I think I’ve said repeatedly that the best loyalty is people loving your product and the best thing we can do to get people to come back is to make sure the stay they had was great,” Chesky told Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit in 2024.
Amazon Prime-Style Membership?
Chesky and other company leaders have previously outlined a vision centred around a more personalised, possibly paid-membership approach – potentially similar to Amazon Prime – that offers tangible benefits rather than points accruals.
He said there would be two possibilities: “One is, do you get rewarded the more you use it? I think that’s a fascinating idea. I don’t know if a subsidy is the right way to get rewarded. And I think a paid membership is also interesting.”
What Happened to the Superguest Program?
In March 2018, Airbnb hired Greg Greeley, an 18-year Amazon veteran who was instrumental in creating and leading Amazon Prime, to serve as President of Airbnb’s Homes division.
A few weeks before he was hired, Airbnb announced it would trial a “Superguest” loyalty program to around 10,000 travellers. The goal was to reward frequent, high-value guests with premium benefits.
The program was intended to be the guest-facing counterpart to the Superhost program. But it never got off the ground for reasons that weren’t explained.
Greeley’s tenure at Airbnb turned out to be relatively short. By July 2020, he had left the company.
It’s possible that the loyalty benefits being tested could resurrect some of those plans from 2018.
The current tests offering top-rated guests discounts of 10-20% sound similar to the premium benefits that were envisioned for the original Superguest program.
What Does This Mean for Guests?
If you’re a frequent Airbnb user with good ratings, you could benefit from the new loyalty program when it launches.
The tests suggest rewards will be tied to your guest rating and number of reviews, not just how much you spend.
A 4.8+ rating and at least three reviews appears to be the threshold for “top-rated guest” status based on the current promotion.
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