Airbnb has forged a marketing deal with Australia's Qantas enabling travelers to earn a point in its frequent flier program for every Australian dollar spent on total guest fees for short-term rentals.
The rentals have to be booked through qantas.com/stay, where the customer is redirected to the Australian Airbnb website to complete the reservations.
The process doesn't work in reverse. If you go straight to Airbnb's portal, you can't earn the points.
But it may be only a matter of time before Airbnb tries to reward its most frequent customers with a loyalty program that cross-markets with other major brands. Lufthansa recently offered seats in its premium economy cabin on Airbnb. Earlier, KLM and Airbnb created a sleepover aircraft.
In today's offer, the more than 11 million members of Qantas's program can earn the points redeemable for travel and other rewards by booking reservations at any of Airbnb’s 2.5 million accommodations worldwide.
The details have some quirks: Qantas Points may be earned only by the member in whose name the booking is made.
Yet the promotion is a sign that airlines are recognizing the growing respectability of short-term rentals.
UPDATE: Airbnb has a similar partnership with Virgin America.