This theme has a lot of road to run before we get any clear conclusion on the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market. Like many, I selected short-term rental for recent trips to Europe because it provided me with an affordable option to share space with family, and a place to prepare meals and relax. On one trip I was in a relatively homogenous apartment that could easily have been a hotel or serviced apartment, all homes in the building were rentals. On another, I was in a building with residents and truly part of the neighborhood. Both were great and much different to a hotel stay where communal areas are usually the lobby or bar. I should add on both these trips I also split my stay with half in great hotels each time. My accommodation choice was matched to my trip purpose and budget. We see cities like Barcelona are banning Airbnb, but I am not convinced that is the answer to lack of housing inventory or rent escalation. I for one will be sad to see short-term rentals become unavailable in certain destinations. It does open the question of how hotels can better serve this obvious demand. Could we see more connecting rooms or suites? Lounge areas with movies and free tea/coffee? Rooms with Murphy beds that can be adapted to an office space or family area? Hotels lead the way with the most advanced revenue management strategies and solutions, with evolving products and optimal pricing, future opportunities are endless.
Tracey Malone
3mo
You’ve posed an interesting perspective to the Airbnb debate. It will be interesting to see how and if hotels will adapt to the new landscape.
Human API for Hospitality Tech | Hotelier, Revenue Mgmt professional | Operations & Technology | IDeaS Revenue Solutions | Blogs, articles and posts are personal opinion.
3moIts fascinating, isnt it? Interesting to me is also the administration trade off between locals and tourist expectations and requirements. Havent we all at some point wanted a little less crowd, a little more space during our holidays :-) Pauline Oliver