Qantas disguises first class seats as $20 ‘cabin in the clouds’ on Airbnb

[TheInsider]

Yep. Qantas comes out way ahead on these gimmicks by:

- Offloading less desirable inventory
- Oodles of free publicity - although this promo hasn't (yet) been picked up as widely as the Points Plane was
- Driving traffic to Airbnb (++ client satisfaction) and increasing consumer awareness of their partnership
- In many cases, charging an arm & leg for 'lucky ones' to get a one-way flight home

What does it cost Qantas? A few hundred thousand points in award discounts and absorbing associated taxes - which they already artificially inflate anyway. Peanuts for what they're getting.

You can do a classic reward and a return paid booking on the one booking, so not to charge the 'one way' flight booking price.

 

[Hillbilly64]

yep those above. LAX as 4/3/2020 -
I could see all 3 but no option to book dates listed.

 

[JPatch]

yep those above. LAX as 4/3/2020 -
I could see all 3 but no option to book dates listed.

Hi Hillbilly64 - at approx what time today did you see the three listings? Were they visible on this page of airbnb ( Airbnb listings from QFF 50,000 Qantas Points Plus $20 ), or just located through searches?

 

[BriarFlyer]

I saw the 3 "listings" this morning, I think around 11am (maybe a bit earlier) but with no availability.

 

[33kft]

Keep in mind, it is entirely possible that they have multiple AirBNB accounts. I am not sure how much effort they would put into going incognito, the "you've found us" part seems to suggest otherwise but who knows.

 

[JPatch]

Keep in mind, it is entirely possible that they have multiple AirBNB accounts. I am not sure how much effort they would put into going incognito, the "you've found us" part seems to suggest otherwise but who knows.

I thought the same. The host's profile picture and name in the link (Airbnb listings from QFF 50,000 Qantas Points Plus $20 ) is different to the host picture from the screenshots promoted via media today. Who knows?! Surely, it can't be as easy as sitting on that link and refreshing until more properties show. Best of luck to all who are in the game!

 

[juddles]

Why is a voice whispering "hoax" in my ear??

 

[JPatch]

I found one available to book to LAX this morning. The dates didn’t suit so I sent it to a friend who’s more flexible. It’s disappeared now, so I’m hoping it was him who booked it!

Hi Renatts - at what time of day did you see this one to LAX available for booking?

 

[Hillbilly64]

Hi Hillbilly64 - at approx what time today did you see the three listings? Were they visible on this page of airbnb ( Airbnb listings from QFF 50,000 Qantas Points Plus $20 ), or just located through searches?

Abour 10:20am

 

[Lynda2475]

How can they avoid charging you the taxes? I understand they can choose to waive their fees, but surely no the government ones?

 

[33kft]

How can they avoid charging you the taxes? I understand they can choose to waive their fees, but surely no the government ones?

Same way they do for points plus pay I guess, they cover it by the points. In this case they're certainly not making money off these seats.

 

[juddles]

Can anyone confirm this is a real thing? Or did some joker invent a "Qantas" airbnb account and manage to get someone to fall into publishing it?

It seems that a couple of hours ago the story the OP found was re-puplished by various australian "news" sites, but then they quickly removed these again (or blocked commenting on them).

Hmmmm.....

 

[33kft]

Account is verified by AirBNB with ID so I would think this would be one hell of a hoax if so.

QFF 50,000 Qantas Points Plus $20 provided

Government ID

Selfie

Email address

Phone number

Work email

 

[juddles]

Account is verified by AirBNB with ID so I would think this would be one hell of a hoax if so.

QFF 50,000 Qantas Points Plus $20 provided

Government ID

Selfie

Email address

Phone number

Work email

I hope your trust of airbnb's "verification" process is well founded - for the sake of us punters

 

[Lynda2475]

Would have been nicer to make these seats available as classic rewards but maybe exclude the P and P1s who can have award availability opened up on request - especially as no heads up before release.

 

[helenma]

Would be good to know how many of these redemptions are available in total and if they supply x amount each day or just at random times. I would definitely like to come across one!

 

[juddles]

Why is a voice whispering "hoax" in my ear??

for the record - I decided out of caution to phone Qantas and they confirmed this is real

 

[Littlemuss]

Looks like I’m spending every waking minute of the next two weeks checking for the deals!! won’t be a very productive fortnight ‍On the work front....

 

[Lynda2475]

How would one marry the AirBnB flight with a classic or paid 1 way fare for the leg that isnt in the AirBnB booking?

 

[Guvner]

Just to summarise:
There's no Qantas branding on the ads.
There's no mention of the promotion on AirBnB or Qantas website(s)
You're paying $20 and providing your QFF number, mobile and full name to somebody who might call you.