My old reporter’s instinct is kicking in, and I have lots of questions about what’s going on over at Airbnb for Hotels.
It’s looking like Airbnb both as a partner and a competitor are going to be growing storylines this year. We will see a push by Airbnb to partner with as many hotel brands as possible to list their hotels on Airbnb.com, similar to pushes by Expedia and Booking 10 years ago as they tried to cozy up to the industry. (As an editor, I remember traveling to Expedia HQ to sit with then-CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as he leaned in on OTAs and hotels as partners rather than competitors.)
Could we also see new, Airbnb-branded, apartment-style hotels that would compete with traditional hotels?
While Airbnb has long been thought of as a competitor, it seems like their big push into the hospitality space is coming right now. They’ve recently hired a stacked team of veteran hotel real estate and distribution experts, and it appears they’ll have a significant presence at ALIS later this month.
I can’t imagine that their only play is to just become another booking channel like Expedia / Booking. This is an already crowded space experiencing declining traffic due to LLMs and a push for more direct bookings, plus rising advertising costs from Google.
Assembling a veteran commercial real estate team gives the appearance that they might try the Airbnb-branded hotels route, or at least commercial apartment-style short term rental buildings that will be primarily sold on Airbnb. Despite the recent Marriott-Sonder snafu, apartment-style hotels are still hot.
I’ve always thought this is the next big move in lodging – most travelers want a little kitchen and a separate bedroom, or 2-3 bedrooms if you’re staying with friends and family. We saw the Hilton-Aparthotels announcement this week, and there are several other small apartment-style brands… but none of them have really taken off in the U.S. Airbnb likely sees this as an opportunity.
But here’s a question: If commercial developers start building big apartment buildings specifically to rent out on Airbnb… is it really an Airbnb anymore? Or has it lost its uniqueness and really it’s just a standardized apartment you stay in for a couple days.
Food for thought:
📌 Would you book a hotel on Airbnb? Would you join Airbnb’s loyalty program if they had one? What if you could use the hotel points you’ve collected to book an Airbnb?
📌 Will more ownership groups now have portfolios that consist of both hotels and short-term rental assets?
📌 What are some of the operational advantages of managing an STR versus a hotel – will we see hotels shift to a leaner model or Airbnb shift to a more hotel-like experience, or a blending of both?
Can’t wait to see how it all shakes out.
Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!