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Airbnb Claims Google Pushes Competing Travel Listings Down

By  |  November 17, 2020

Airbnb, in its S-1 filing, wrote that it believes its search results have been adversely affected by the launch of Google Travel and Google Vacation Rental Ads, reported CNBC. 

Airbnb says Google’s search business has prevented the home-sharing company from reaping internet traffic, according to documents the company filed as it prepares to sell shares to the public.

Airbnb allows users to book short-term rentals and experiences while traveling. Under the “Risk Factors” in Airbnb’s S-1 filing, the company said Google has favored its own products over the company’s, resulting in fewer online visitors to its website. In the last year, the Alphabet company has added more search features akin to travel websites, including for vacation rentals. 

“We believe that our SEO results have been adversely affected by the launch of Google Travel and Google Vacation Rental Ads, which reduce the prominence of our platform in organic search results for travel-related terms and placement on Google,” the prospectus states.