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Airbnb quietly acquired Eliot, an on-demand rental pricing tool, in 2018

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  • Airbnb quietly acquired Eliot, a real-time pricing calculator for rental property owners, in a previously unreported 2018 deal, an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

Airbnb bought up Eliot, an on-demand rental pricing tool, in a previously unreported deal in October 2018, an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

Eliot, founded in 2017 by Edouard Tabet, analyzed "billions of vacation rental pricing points to accuratly [sic] predict short-term rental revenue, trends and price surge events," its website said in 2018, according to The Internet Archive.

On-demand or "surge" pricing, where prices for a product fluctuate as demand ebbs and flows, has been an essential aspect of platform-based companies like Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb, allowing them to make more money during busy times and keep consumers coming during slower periods.

In 2015, Airbnb rolled out its Smart Pricing feature, which it said "allows hosts to set pricing controls that automatically adjust to demands in order to stay competitively priced." Since Smart Pricing's debut predated the Eliot by several years, it's unclear whether Airbnb wanted to acquire the company's technology and talent, buy out a potential competitor, or both.

Airbnb did not disclose how much it paid for the company or what the terms were, though Tabet's LinkedIn profile lists his current job title as "head of growth, Growth & Traffic" at Airbnb. The domain for Bold's website now redirects to a company called Velo Payments, which says it's "making the payouts process accurate, reliable and easy." Business Insider could not confirm whether there is any connection between the companies.

Bold is among several acquisitions made by Airbnb that the company has been relatively quiet about, in contrast to its purchases of companies like HotelTonight and Luxury Retreats. With Airbnb preparing to go public in 2020, investors will be paying close attention to how each of its more than 20 past purchases have paid off.

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