Revolut launches cashback holiday home rental service to rival Airbnb

Could the new expansion of Revolut Stays mark the latest step on the road to super app status?

Move aside Airbnb and Vrbo, Revolut is expanding its accommodation booking service with ‘Homes’.

The new holiday home rental feature with cashback adds to the app’s growing suite of travel services, which already includes hotels, travel insurance and the original currency exchange.

The succinctly named service is part of the similarly monikered ‘Stays’, which has so far given users more than £1.5m in cashback globally.

Now users will be able to book holiday homes directly through the app with up to four per cent cashback – depending on the subscription level – with added features such as group bill splitting.

“When it comes to travel, we know that our customer’s needs are changing more and more. Big or small, budget or bougie, local homes or chic-hotels – our customers want to book any kind of place, all in one place,” Revolut general manager of lifestyle products Christopher Guttridge said.

“Whether it’s digital nomads working abroad, large families travelling together under one roof, or couples looking for a home away from home, we’re delighted to add Homes to our global superapp to deliver hassle-free homes, hotels and hostels with effortless cashback.”

Currently available to customers in the UK and Europe, hundreds of thousands of holiday homes will be listed worldwide.

Whether you’re looking for pet-friendly homes or dedicated workstations, Revolut says you will be able to filter for whatever you need.

Given Airbnb’s hyped-up, “biggest change in a decade” constituted adding categories when users search, perhaps Revolut Homes will provide the alternative holiday-goes are looking for when it comes to home rentals, especially with the added incentive of cashback.

We will have to have to wait and see whether Homes can make a household name for itself.