Cookie-Cutter Hilton Is Now Trying to Provide Benefits of Airbnb

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

To make sure you never miss valuable miles & points news and promos, sign up for our email newsletter!

If you’ve not tried Airbnb, it’s all the rage.

Airbnb is a website that lets folks rent out their home to travelers, either a single room or the whole house.  It’s a great choice for folks who prefer a local feel when they travel.  Not only can you better absorb your destination’s culture when you’re staying with a host family, but you can connect with locals to discover the lesser-advertised gems nearby.

Hilton recognizes the value of this unique benefit, but they aren’t happy with losing your business.  So they’ve teamed up with Foursquare as their own way to offer local flavor!

Foursquare is an app that shows folks recommended restaurants, activities, etc. near your location based on feedback from locals.

Now, when you have a confirmed Hilton hotel stay, you’ll see an “Explore” button in the Hilton app.  It will show you things like the highest-rated menu items and the best hours to visit certain areas.  While you’re flicking through all the recommendations, you can easily click to save them and create an itinerary for yourself before your trip begins.

For folks who are hesitant to spend the night in someone else’s house with Airbnb, but still want a local feel, this is a convenient option!  Lots of travelers prefer cookie-cutter hotels, because they like knowing exactly what to expect.  Plus, Airbnb doesn’t have a loyalty program like Hilton.

Note:   Even though Airbnb doesn’t have its own loyalty program, you CAN still use points for a free stay with rewards you earn from cards like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.

While playing with this new feature, it’s obvious Explore is not yet available with all hotels.  It’s currently operating for 28 markets around the world.

It’s cool that Hilton is trying to remedy a shortcoming in the hotel industry.  But this new feature doesn’t look to be much better than simply opening the Foursquare app separately.

Do you think this is a good answer for the anti-culture that hotels tend to offer?