Nest to give free thermostats to some Airbnb hosts
The companies have partnered to give the smart thermostats to "selected hosts" in the US at no charge. It's part of a green push for Airbnb.
Nest, the Google-owned company that sells energy-saving "learning" thermostats, has inked a deal with home-hoteling provider Airbnb.
Airbnb will offer Nest thermostats to its accommodations hosts in the US as part of Airbnb's green initiatives, the pair announced Thursday. Airbnb is choosing just some hosts to be part of the program, and will provide them Nest thermostats free of charge. The thermostats sell for $249.
"As part of the partnership, Airbnb will feature many of the properties outfitted with Nests in a curated Wish List on the Airbnb site, called "Nests on Airbnb" alongside other eco-friendly home collections, including "It's Easy Being Green," "Urban Farms," and "Shipping Containers," the company said Thursday.
Google acquired Nest earlier this year for $3.2 billion. Nest, which was founded by former Apple executive Tony Fadell, created a thermostat that learns a customer's patterns and automatically adjusts settings to save as much energy as possible. The company also provides a MyEnergy platform that lets people track energy consumption and get tips on being more energy-efficient. As part of the deal, Airbnb hosts who use Nest will have free access to MyEnergy.
Airbnb, which was founded in 2008, allows people to list their properties for others to rent out for short periods. The service includes everything from apartments to villas in over 34,000 cities in 109 countries.
Earlier this year, Airbnb released a report saying that its guests use 63 percent less energy than the typical hotel guest.
It's not clear how many people will be receiving Nest thermostats. Both Nest and Airbnb declined to provide any details beyond their joint press release.