Airbnb's Amex Travel Deal Reaches Into a Core Expedia B2B Channel

Airbnb's new deal with American Express Travel is more than another loyalty tie-up. According to Skift, it puts Airbnb directly inside a channel that Expedia's B2B business has long treated as its own.

We covered the announcement itself earlier this week. The follow-up angle is what it means for Expedia and Vrbo, and for hosts who list on more than one platform.

What changed

On 22 October, Airbnb became the exclusive vacation rental partner for American Express Travel. More than 1 million listings now sit in a new Homes tab on AmexTravel.com and in the Amex Travel app. Amex closed its own Select Homes + Retreats product at the same time.

Expedia has supplied Amex Travel with flights, hotels and technology since 2015, when it bought Travelocity. Skift describes Amex as one of Expedia's most important B2B partners. An Amex spokesperson told Skift: "There's no change to our existing business with Expedia." Airbnb and Expedia both declined to comment.

Why this one is different

Airbnb already works with airlines such as Qantas, Delta and British Airways. In most of those cases, members are sent to Airbnb.com through tracked links. The Amex deal works differently. Cardholders search for listings inside Amex Travel. Airbnb still handles the sale, payment, messaging and support, but the discovery happens in Amex's own environment.

That matters because card-points redemption is central to Expedia's B2B unit. That unit grew gross bookings 21% in the second quarter of 2026, its 20th straight quarter of double-digit growth.

The Vrbo angle

Vrbo never supplied Amex Travel, so Expedia has not lost existing revenue here. The hit is to future growth. Since 2025, Expedia has been adding Vrbo rentals to its B2B network for partners including Alaska Airlines, Delta and Revolut. Amex is now closed to that inventory.

Exclusivity also cuts the other way. Airbnb cannot supply short-term rentals to other partners, which leaves Vrbo room across Expedia's roughly 75,000 B2B partners.

Open questions Skift raises

Skift asks whether Expedia keeps its default-supplier role with card issuer portals if Airbnb signs more direct deals like this one. It also asks whether the walls Expedia describes between B2B partner data and its consumer brands hold up, given its CarTrawler arrangement with Airbnb.

What it means for operators

For hosts and small property managers, the practical point is distribution reach. A listing on Airbnb can now surface to Amex cardholders who never open the Airbnb app. Properties listed only on Vrbo will not appear there.

If you run on both platforms, it is worth checking how your calendar sync and pricing rules treat each channel. Demand coming from a points-based channel can change booking patterns and lead times. Watch whether other card issuers and airlines follow with similar in-portal deals.