Qantas and Airbnb join forces to reward frequent flyer members

The battle for customer loyalty is heating up, with Qantas announcing a "world-first" partnership with hotel industry disrupter Airbnb.<br/>From Tuesday, Qantas' 11.4m members will be able to earn one point for every dollar they spend on an Airbnb room or property. They must book the accommodation via Qantas' website. "The way that people around the world plan, book and experience travel is changing rapidly with the digital revolution," said Qantas CE Alan Joyce. "We know many of our customers are just as likely to arrange an Airbnb as they are to book a hotel, and we wanted to recognise and reward them for that." He said the airline wanted to "reinvent airline travel", just like Airbnb has done for accommodation. Airbnb now boasts 2.5m accommodation listings – from treehouses to castles – in nearly every country. It's the first time Airbnb has partnered with an airline loyalty program.<br/>