Passion for HosPitality
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com
Brittany Farb , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : bfarb @ hotelsmag . com
Dani Friedland , Managing Editor , New Media 1.312.274.2223 E-mail : dfriedland @ mtgmediagroup . com
Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com
Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com
Brittney Hackbart , Associate Art Director 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : bhackbart @ mtgmediagroup . com
Michelle Villadolid , Freelance Design E-mail : mvilladolid @ mtgmediagroup . com
Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Oriana Lerner , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING Dan Hogan , Vice President , Publisher 1.312.274.2221 dhogan @ hotelsmag . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India
Stephen Bartolin Chairman , The Broadmoor , Colorado Springs , Colorado
Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London
Kirk Kinsell President & CEO , Loews Hotels & Resorts , New York City
Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai
Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia
Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta
Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo
Susan Terry Vice President Culinary Operations , Hyatt Hotels North American Operations , Chicago
EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICES , HOTELS Marketing and Technology Group , 1415 N . Dayton Street Chicago , Illinois 60642 USA 1.312.274.2200 ; fax : 1.312.266.3363 edit @ hotelsmag . com
SUBSCRIPTIONS / CHANGE OF ADDRESS For address changes or subscription questions , please contact : Customer Service , HOTELS , 1209 Dundee Ave . # 8 , Elgin , Illinois 60120 USA . E-mail : PrintCirc @ hotelsmag . com or call : 800.554.7470 ( U . S . only )
Airbnb
The debATe
Frenemy , foe , potential partner , alternative to OTAs ? Just what is Airbnb and its like-minded shared economy hospitality providers to the hotel business , and how will they evolve ? Those are among the questions for one of the day ’ s hot topics . While the answers apparently are not yet at hand , I expect that they lie not too far out of sight .
In what now seems like a never-ending growing layer of hotel distribution complications ( add Expedia ’ s acquisition of HomeAway ’ s vacation rentals ), the narrative surrounding shared economy accommodation providers , specifically Airbnb , is heating up . For now it is not much more than talk , with the exception of BridgeStreet Global Hospitality , which has a new agreement with Airbnb ( see p12 ). A few players , such as Marriott International , have barely admitted to having conversations with Airbnb , but if Marriott had a meeting other hotel operators likely are doing the same . Almost comically , it sounds similar to American hoteliers skulking around Cuba – nobody wants to publically admit it .
Airbnb frontman Chip Conley , still a hotel owner , was not immediately available to HOTELS for comment about whether his company , with a market cap bigger than Hilton ’ s , is in discussions with hotel companies . Silence , however , can sometimes be deafening .
But why would Airbnb and hoteliers meet ? As Chris Nassetta said during Hilton ’ s quarterly earnings call , Airbnb , while interesting and worth watching , is an outlier . It doesn ’ t matter to his business . Marriott ’ s Arne Sorenson a few years ago said the same thing .
So , based on published data , generating 5 % of New York City rooms revenue in Q2 2015 is inconsequential , as are 80 million Airbnb bookings in 2015 , which is double what it generated in 2014 . Could those numbers be mostly incremental , generated by consumers
Editor In Chief who would have not otherwise traveled or chosen to stay in a hotel ? I have a hunch we would predominantly answer “ no .”
For now , hoteliers are mostly crying for a level playing field with Airbnb and its providers paying equal taxes , operating under similar safety and security conditions , and not pushing renters to the street . Will that truly make a difference ? Does it really matter either way , as Chris Nassetta says ? Or is it time to sit up and consider the implications and responses ?
It is going to be very interesting to see where this story goes in 2016 . You can already chalk up one big victory for Airbnb in November when San Francisco voters defeated what Airbnb called a hotel industry-backed measure – a ballot proposition that aimed to limit all short-term rentals to 75 days a year . It is reported Airbnb spent US $ 8 million to beat its opposition .
The lines are being drawn . Let ’ s see how it plays out .
www . hotelsmag . com December 2015 HOTELS 7