The private car transfer service Airbnb began piloting earlier this year is now officially live. Starting yesterday, guests in over 125 cities across Asia, Europe, and Latin America can pre-book a private car between their listing and their airport or transport hub directly in the Airbnb app.
.webp)
After booking a stay, guests will see the option to schedule a car service in the Trips tab. For arrivals, there's a meet-and-greet option where a driver waits at the arrival location with the guest's name. For departures, the driver picks up directly at the listing. Guests can view and change their booking details within the app.
This is a guest-facing feature. Hosts don't need to do anything, and there's no host compensation or involvement tied to the service.
The "Entire Trip" play
The launch is part of Airbnb's broader Services expansion, which started in May 2025 with categories like private chefs, personal training, and spa treatments. Private car transfers are the latest addition.
This is a part of Airbnb's "entire trip" strategy. Airbnb wants to be the place where the trip gets planned, booked, and managed. Instead of guests bouncing between apps for their stay, their ride, and their experiences, Airbnb is trying to consolidate all of it under one roof.
So is Airbnb competing with Uber now?
Not really. Even though it kinda feels like Uber, it's not competing with Uber's core business.
Welcome Pickups, Airbnb's partner for the car service, sets the prices for scheduled transfers booked in advance, planned around check-in and checkout. Uber's core product is on-demand, immediate rides, anywhere, anytime. These are two different use cases, and on-demand rides aren't part of the new Airbnb feature.
.jpg)
