#airbnb api

A Journey Towards Openness

At the 2015 Airbnb Open the company unveiled Host Assist, a platform aimed at including externally-built tools and services to help hosts do their job more efficiently.

At the same time, we spotted a couple of websites and appsmaking use of official Airbnb API, sparking the interest of hundreds of developers across the world, all interested in improving the experience for hosts and guests.

Unfortunately, both these early signs of aperture were not followed up by concrete initiatives, as Airbnb kept its platform inside of a walled garden.

Developers had to find hacks and workarounds to obtain information from the private Airbnb API, something that was against Airbnb’s terms of service.

However, as the company kept growing, also the interest to collaborate with it increased. In the last 2 years, despite the limitations imposed by Airbnb, many services have been launched by independent developers, showing a clear demand for a more structured approach that could help the entire ecosystem grow.

Partnerships as the Way Forward

Allowing travellers to live local experiences in the most authentic way has always been at the center of Brian Chesky’s vision for Airbnb.

In the last years Airbnb has started to look outside of its core accommodation rental business, with the intention to be the central hub to manage every aspect of a trip.

In order to execute this strategy, Airbnb acquired a few startups (like the Barcelona-based Trip4real), and signed partnerships with others (as Resy and Detour).

These collaborations are a clear sign of how Airbnb can - and in some cases needs to - leverage external partners to push its growth outside of the pure hospitality business. However, the company has until now limited the access of its API by examining prospective tie-ins partnership by partnership.

As Airbnb announced an updated Affiliate program at the end of September, we speculated the upcoming launch of an Official API to support Airbnb’s new interest in partnerships development.

Still, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Airbnb has finally made the step forwards to create a platform for developers to build applications interfacing with its ecosystem.

The Long Awaited Official Airbnb API

Announced in parallel to more advanced host tools and integrations with Property Management Systems, Airbnb is now finally ready to give access to its API to external developers.

While the API is not publicly accessible to everyone, this is a huge step forwards for the entire ecosystem, as the availability of an official API will make the development process clearer, simpler and more structured, allowing to implement ideas that until now could not have been executed.

You can request access to them by filing an application here.

Airbnb will evaluate incoming requests (looking at business opportunity, technological strength and ability to support the shared customers. If you get accepted you will be granted access to the API documentation, with the support of a “global team of partnership managers” to help you succeed in the development of your application.

The specific details of the technical API documentation are not publicly available, but from the FAQ published on the page, the focus seem to be more skewed towards the host side:

The API allows development teams to securely Oauth into new and existing Airbnb accounts. Your application users will have the ability to push updates to content, rates, and availability. As Airbnb guests book your listings, we’ll pass back messaging and reservation details, allowing applications to build custom workflows and create amazing experiences for our shared guests.

Given that Airbnb is currently hiring for API Integration Consultant roles, both in Dublin and Berlin, we expect the efforts and resources put into the development of this platform to only grow over time.

We will update this article as soon as we will gather more information... but in the meanwhile, if you have more details about the new Airbnb API, let us know in the comments below!

Which services are available within Host Assist?

The availability of services offered among Host Assist apps is still very limited and only offered in specific geographical locations.

In order to check if there are any services available for your listing, visit this link, or navigate to the Host Assist section from your Airbnb dashboard.

As of today, the following selected partners have been approved:

Physical keys handover 🔑

KeyCafe - Keys exchange simplified: drop your keys off at a nearby location and let guests access your Airbnb listing from remote.

Hoard - Check in guests remotely by depositing your keys in trusted local stores.

Keyless doors & remote locks sets 🔐📱

August Home - Be always in control of your front door, no matter where you are, right from your smartphone.

IglooHome - No more being late for check-ins and losing your keys, thanks to a keyless check-in experience.

RemoteLock - Allows hosts and property managers to create, delete and manage guest codes to access a password protected lock.

Yale Real Living - A series of high quality residential electronic and mechanical door locks designed and manufactured by Yale Security.

Danalock - Grant housecleaners, contractors and guests time-limited or recurring access and get notifications when your lock is used and by whom.

Linus lock by Yale - a “Works with Nest” product that automatically creates a guest passcode based on check-in and check-out dates and provide notification of guest arrival.

Master Lock - a password protected case where to store the keys, without having to change the lock on the door.

Cleaning services 🚽

Properly - Create a visual checklist to share instructions with your cleaners and get pictures and problem reports while cleaning is in progress.

Are there other services that can be used by hosts to improve their guests experience, increase their satisfaction and maximize profits? Tell us in the comments below!

How do Host Assist apps work?

All the services listed in the Host Assist sections are managed by external companies or products, that you will have to pay for separately.

Airbnb's job is to select which partners are featured and to provide the information about you, your listings, your bookings and your guests to the external partner in order to make the whole process smoother.

Once you’ve selected an Host Assist app, you’ll be asked to grant access to your Airbnb account as in the example below.

A list of all the apps that have access to your Airbnb account can be found in the settings of your Airbnb profile, visiting “Account > Connected Apps” after having logged in.

From here, you can view each app settings, see each individual Privacy Policy and Terms of Service or remove the app from your Airbnb account.

What else can we expect from Host Assist?

Launching Host Assist, Airbnb is making available to its community a wider range of services that can improve both the host and guest experience.

While Airbnb has not yet announced the release of a public API, some of the Host Assist apps (as Properly or LockState) integrate with Airbnb using the Airbnb API.

Until now, only a few partners have been approved and listed among Host Assist apps, and even less have been authorized to integrate with Airbnb using the proprietary OAuth authentication (offering a better user experience).

While this doesn’t yet fully open up to a future where the Airbnb API will be available to the general public, it shows how Airbnb is getting more used to the idea that working together with external partners to build a cohesive ecosystem of services can generate more value for its community.

This would totally fit with Brian Chesky’s vision of the company to be with its users throughout the entire journey, not just during the booking or rental experience.

However, it’s also true that Airbnb still has a lot of growth potential in multiple areas that have not yet been explored. Companies that might benefit from having a direct access to Airbnb’s API, but that could directly compete with Airbnb might face some hard time convincing Airbnb to work together, even if they could bring some substantial value to the ecosystem.

If you are also looking forwards to finally seeing Airbnb releasing a public API:

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