Airbnb’s Fee Shake-Up, Perks for Slow Travel and the Supersonic Race

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, August 29. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Airbnb will require property managers to move to a “single-fee” payment system starting in late October, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.

Airbnb guests who book a stay at a home operated by a property manager will no longer be charged a roughly 15% service fee, and property managers, who previously paid a 3% fee, will instead pay 14 to 16% of their nightly rate.

Some individual hosts are already worried they’ll lose out. But Airbnb says the new structure adds transparency, and more importantly, that guests and hosts will ultimately see no change to total cost and payments.

Individual hosts aren’t required to switch to the single-fee system, but they can choose to, and many likely will because many guests will favor properties that don’t charge service fees.

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Next, some companies are offering extra vacation days to employees who skip flights for lower-carbon travel, a perk meant to reduce climate impact and promote “slow travel,” writes Climate Reporter Darin Graham.

Positive Planet, a consultancy that advises businesses on carbon measurement, offers employees who avoid air travel up to two extra days of annual leave. Head of Impact and Sustainability Bryony Salter said Positive Planet has seen growing interest from clients asking how they can implement a similar benefit for their own teams.

Climate Perks, which was launched by the climate charity Possible, offers a similar benefit. Employers give staff paid “journey days” on top of regular leave if they choose slower travel instead of flying. Graham notes over 100 organizations have signed on, covering more than 5,000 employees.

Finally, Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl is aiming to operate three-hour passenger flights from New York to London by the end of 2029, writes Director of Audio and Video Strategy Wil Slickers.

Scholl told the Skift Travel Podcast that key technological and regulatory barriers that doomed the Concorde in 2003 are gone. The 52-year-old U.S. ban on civilian supersonic flights ended earlier this year. And Boom is working on next-generation engines designed to hit supersonic speeds without noisy and inefficient afterburners.

Boom’s Overture aircraft is being co-developed with carriers like United, American, and Japan Airlines, which have already placed pre-orders. With round-trip fares projected around $3,500 across the Atlantic, Boom is positioning its service squarely in the business-class segment.