Ryanair Challenges Airbnb, Plans To Become 'The Amazon Of Air Travel'

Reuter's Victory Bryan reported on Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) RYAAY's new effort to challenge Airbnb by offering spare private rooms on its website.

"Ryanair will launch the new Ryanair Rooms service in October, offering everything from 5-star hotel rooms to hostels and spare rooms in private homes," said Bryan.

'The Amazon of Air Travel'

"We see this as a neutral progression towards Ryanair.com becoming the Amazon AMZN of air travel", said chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs. Being Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers, the company may have the scale to perform a service that links customers with spare private rooms effectively.

"Ryanair would charge commissions to accommodate suppliers of under 10 percent compared to up to 20 percent charged by some online aggregators," according to Bryan. The company is entering a fragmented market "with the four largest companies – Airbinb, Homeaway, Tripadvisor and booking.cm – controlling a market share of less than 25 percent between them" said Jacobs.

At time of writing, Ryanair traded at $85.96, up 0.42 percent.