Airbnb, a marketplace that allows people to rent their homes and apartments via the web, is considering entering the car-sharing space. In a survey sent to us by an Airbnb host, the startup is asking hosts if they would rent out their cars along with their residences.
As shown in the screenshots below, Airbnb asks if owners allowed a guest to use a car during a stay, and if owners would rent a car to guests if there is insurance provided. The survey also asks hosts whether they would rent a car to a guest that is not renting their home.
The survey also asks hosts how concerned they would be about car theft and inconvenience when offering a car sharing service. And Airbnb asked hosts if there are any other items they would rent to guests.
A customer survey does not mean Airbnb is launching a car-sharing service any time soon. But it is a logical market for Airbnb to move into. Especially with the new massive amount of money the service could be using this to expand to other verticals. Of course, this would be competition for Getaround, a car rental community recently launched (and won) at TechCrunch Disrupt. Or Airbnb could just buy or partner with Getaround.
We’ve contacted the company for confirmation.
Update: Airbnb says it is thinking about partnering with existing car-sharing services and issued this response:
We are in constant engagement with our users and regularly send out surveys and conduct focus groups to better serve our community. After being approached by a number of car sharing companies with potential partnership opportunities and we sent this survey to gauge the interest in car sharing services amongst our community and whether a partnership would be useful to them.
