Airbnb is adding private car services to its much-expanded Airbnb Services offerings through a partnership with Welcome Pickups, expanding its push to sell more of the trip beyond the stay itself. Starting Tuesday, guests in more than 125 cities across Asia, Europe, and Latin America can pre-book rides between their Airbnb listing and an arrival or departure point, including airports and other transport hubs. The launch follows Airbnb’s introduction of its broader Services product last May.
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You Can Now Book Your Airport Transfers Directly Through Airbnb
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“Airbnb Services are designed to enhance a guest’s stay, and our partnership with Welcome Pickups delivers that from the moment they arrive,” Dave Stephenson, Airbnb’s chief business officer, said in a press release announcing the partnership. “Now guests can book a private car service in advance, taking the hassle out of organizing transportation in a new city. We’re excited to expand Airbnb Services with more helpful offerings, and this is just the start.”
How the Airbnb and Welcome Pickups partnership works
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Under the new arrangement, eligible guests will see the car-service option in the Trips tab immediately after booking a stay. Once reserved, the transfer can be managed inside the Airbnb app. For arriving travelers, Airbnb said riders can choose a meet-and-greet option, with a driver waiting at the pickup point holding a sign with the guest’s name. For departures, the service is designed to pick travelers up at their listing and take them to the airport or another transportation hub.
Airbnb is pitching the product as a way to reduce one of the most unpredictable parts of a trip, the first and last mile in an unfamiliar city. In the release, the company framed airport pickups, late-night arrivals, and confusing pickup areas as common friction points for travelers, particularly after long-haul flights.
The company said the rollout builds on a pilot earlier in 2026 in which thousands of guests in Europe and Asia booked the service. Airbnb said those rides earned an average rating of 4.96, based on reviews from trips taken between January 1 and March 15, 2026. The launch cities included Paris, Bali, and Mexico City, with more destinations in the three regions planned through the rest of 2026.
For Airbnb, the move is part of a larger strategy to make its app more useful before check-in and after checkout, turning transportation and other add-ons into another layer of trip planning. It also positions the company more directly against travel platforms that bundle airport transfers, tours, and in-destination services into one booking flow.
“Arriving in a new destination should feel exciting, not stressful,” Alex Trimis, CEO of Welcome Pickups, said in the release. “For years, Welcome Pickups has helped travelers plan that moment in advance, with reliable transfers and a personal welcome waiting when they arrive. We’re thrilled to partner with Airbnb to bring that experience directly into the travel journey and help even more guests start their trip with confidence.”
Airbnb’s message is straightforward: if it can smooth transportation at the edges of a stay, it has another reason to keep travelers inside its platform from booking through departure. 