Travelers to Japan might have cheaper housing options during their trips, as it has been announced that Airbnb, Inc. is in discussions to join forces with Recruit Group, which operates one of Japan’s largest real estate information sites–Suumo.

The idea is that Recruit will look at rental properties posted on its site which are struggling to find tenants, and then assist the owners of the property to lease their rooms as minpaku (rental homes) on Airbnb.

This tie-up is supposed to cause a spike in the minpaku business in Japan, which should mean cheaper options for your next trip. So look for many more available rentals on Airbnb in the very near future.

All of this news regarding minpaku comes after Expedia Inc.’s HomeAway signed a deal with e-commerce behemoth Rakuten, Inc. last year. This allowed for HomeAway to sell inventory from Rakuten’s housing arm.

Great news for all of us budget travelers!

–Sal