For years, I’ve been watching the slow-burn relationship between Airbnb and HotelTonight. When Airbnb acquired the hotel-booking app in 2019, it felt like a bold step into new territory. But once COVID hit, HotelTonight all but vanished. What was once the go-to app for last-minute urban getaways and boutique hotel deals became eerily quiet during a time when spontaneous travel ceased to exist.
Fast-forward to March 2025, and something quietly revolutionary has happened.
HotelTonight is back — and now it’s powering Airbnb’s first real loyalty loop. Travelers in the US and UK who book hotels through HotelTonight can now earn 10% of their booking value in Airbnb credit. It’s a big deal. Not because the perk is enormous, but because Airbnb has famously avoided launching a loyalty program. Until now.
Let’s break down what this means, how HotelTonight has evolved, and how Airbnb is crafting a different kind of loyalty than its rivals — especially Booking.com’s Genius program.
🕰️ Timeline: HotelTonight’s Journey Under Airbnb
• 2010: HotelTonight is founded as a mobile-first, last-minute hotel booking app.
• 2016: HotelTonight launches HT Perks, a tiered loyalty program based on cumulative lifetime spend, with no expiration and no blackout dates.
• March 2019: Airbnb acquires HotelTonight for ~$400M, aiming to diversify beyond home-sharing and into hotel inventory.
• 2020–2023: COVID upends urban and business travel. HotelTonight, once a leader in spontaneous hotel stays, goes quiet. Airbnb pivots hard toward remote work, longer stays, and countryside escapes.
• March 2025: HotelTonight introduces a new HT Perks benefit — earn 10% Airbnb credit on every hotel booking. For the first time, the two platforms are truly linked in a cross-brand incentive loop.
💳 HT Perks, Explained
While it may feel new, HT Perks actually launched in 2016 — long before the pandemic. It’s a loyalty program with simple thresholds and surprisingly sticky benefits:
• Level 1: Spend $100 — unlock deeper discounts
• Level 2: Spend $750 — get an extra 5% off
• Level 3: Spend $5,000 — get 10% off + VIP support
Now, in 2025, a new benefit gives HT Perks members something even more enticing: Airbnb credit.
Here’s how it works:
1. Link your Airbnb account to HotelTonight.
2. Book a hotel via the HotelTonight app.
3. Earn 10% of your booking value in Airbnb credit.
4. Use that credit within a year for your next Airbnb stay.
It’s not a points program. It’s a cross-platform funnel. And it’s clever.
🎯 Why This Matters: Airbnb’s Stealth Loyalty Strategy
Airbnb has long resisted the traditional loyalty playbook — no tiers, no points, no “Gold status.” It’s stayed true to its brand: community over commodification, experiences over transactions.
But this integration signals a shift. Without explicitly saying so, Airbnb is now rewarding behavior, retaining users, and cross-selling products. It’s a loyalty program in disguise.
And the timing makes sense. In today’s hybrid travel world:
• Weekdays are for business trips in cities (hello, HotelTonight).
• Weekends are for countryside escapes (enter, Airbnb credit).
This strategy doesn’t require building a new loyalty platform. It uses the one Airbnb already owns — and lets the customer connect the dots.
🌐 Social Media Buzz: What Travelers Are Saying
The new HotelTonight–Airbnb credit perk has generated lively conversation online. Here’s what travelers are saying across Reddit, Twitter, and forums.
A. Positive Reactions
1. Convenience and Value
Travelers appreciate getting Airbnb credit from hotel bookings. It feels like a smart, flexible way to reward loyalty without needing a traditional points system.
2. HotelTonight’s Revival
Longtime fans are excited to see HotelTonight active again. Many are sharing nostalgic posts about how much they used the app pre-COVID for quick getaways or spontaneous overnights.
B. Concerns and Criticism
1. Is It Competitive Enough?
Some travelers compare it to Booking.com’s Genius or Expedia’s One Key, and feel the Airbnb credit isn’t generous or wide-reaching enough to compete head-on.
2. Airbnb’s Identity Drift
Others worry that bringing hotels into the fold could dilute Airbnb’s image — originally built around unique homes and hosted stays. Some feel this is a shift toward becoming “just another OTA.”
3. Loyalty Skepticism
Without a traditional loyalty framework, some travelers aren’t sure this perk alone will keep them coming back, especially when other platforms offer instant savings or elite benefits.
🆚 Airbnb + HotelTonight vs. Booking.com Genius (At a Glance)
Here’s a simple comparison of how the two approaches to loyalty differ:
Loyalty Approach
• Airbnb: Cross-platform, subtle loyalty via credit
• Booking.com: Tiered, formal Genius program with instant rewards
Type of Rewards
• Airbnb: Airbnb credit earned from HotelTonight bookings
• Booking.com: Hotel discounts, free breakfast, room upgrades
Expiration Rules
• Airbnb: HT Perks status never expires; Airbnb credits valid for 1 year
• Booking.com: Genius level remains active with consistent use
User Experience
• Airbnb: Separate apps, but a shared ecosystem
• Booking.com: Fully integrated single platform
Target User Behavior
• Airbnb: Hybrid travelers (business during the week, leisure on weekends)
• Booking.com: Frequent hotel bookers focused on maximizing savings
🏨 Broader Implications: Why This Is Bigger Than It Seems
✈️ Hybrid Travel Trends
Post-pandemic travel is more fluid. Remote work means trips blend business and leisure. Airbnb is meeting this moment by combining flexibility of format (hotel or home) with incentives to explore both.
💥 Market Disruption Potential
Could this move disrupt traditional OTAs? Possibly. But Airbnb is playing the long game. Rather than dominate the hotel space, it’s using HotelTonight to capture more traveler types and introduce them to the Airbnb ecosystem.
The key difference? Airbnb doesn’t want to be just where you book a place to sleep. It wants to be your travel platform — one that lets you blend formats, experiences, and budgets, all without the usual loyalty baggage.
🔍 Final Thoughts
Airbnb quietly linking HotelTonight to its platform isn’t just a feature update — it’s a strategy shift.
By reviving HotelTonight and embedding it with real value (Airbnb credit), Airbnb is building a modern, flexible, and experiential loyalty engine. One that doesn’t scream “status,” but nudges you to keep coming back — and to try both parts of the ecosystem.
No tiers. No points. Just credit, simplicity, and a subtle reward for exploring more of what Airbnb has to offer.
And travelers? They’re noticing.
