SPECIAL REPORT
THE SAFETY PROTOCOLS PUT IN PLACE OVER THE PAST YEAR WILL BECOME LESS IMPERATIVE AS TIME PROGRESSES , BUT EXTREME CLEANLINESS IS NOW TABLE STAKES IN OUR INDUSTRY , ESPECIALLY IN THE LUXURY SEGMENT .
JEFF DOANE ACCOR
In 2020 , clearly an anomaly , Airbnb actually grew its share of lodging revenue in the U . S ., from 11 % to 18 %, and the U . S . wasn ’ t an outlier . “ More and more people who used to book hotels are switching to Airbnb as a consequence of the pandemic ,” says Simone Puorto , CEO of Paris-based consultancy Travel Singularity . “ For a lot of tourists , apartments seem safer than hotels , at least in terms of social distancing and the fact that they have the apartment to themselves ,” he adds . Whether that trend will continue remains debatable , but hotel operators are betting guests will gravitate back to the consistency , service and other advantages hotels offer over home stays .
“ Many people tried home rentals for the first time during the pandemic , and not everyone was pleased ,” says Scott Mayerowitz , executive editorial director at The Points Guy , a website for frequent travelers . “ There were dirty rentals , and other things not up to everyone ’ s standards .” Going forward , he thinks visitors to urban destinations , in particular , where apartments dominate Airbnb ’ s inventory , are likely to feel safer and more comfortable in hotels . And the bargain hunters who typically have driven demand for urban alternatives to hotels will likely find hotels more affordable — at least until business travel picks up again .
Hilton , which launched digital room keys in 2015 , has rolled them out to more than 80 % of its global portfolio .
64 hotelsmag . com May / June 2021