EYEBROW
delivers against a family vacation — one that will look better than or just like the pictures , someone you can call 24 / 7 , and service levels that you would expect from Marriott ,” says says Jennifer Hsieh , vice president of the Homes & Villas initiative .
Properties in the Homes & Villas network are not exclusive to Marriott ; Marriott acts as a distribution platform in offering these rentals . Survey data showed that 27 % of Bonvoy members had rented a home in the previous 12 months , and Bonvoy members looking for a way to score or redeem lots of points are expected to drive bookings at the homes .
Accor bought the upscale Onefinestay homeshare brand in 2016 for US $ 166 million and integrated it into its loyalty program , then took a $ US288 million writeoff partly attributed to the brand in 2Q 2018 . The portfolio has doubled to
POTENTIAL PITFALLS
Hotel players involved in homeshare tend to dismiss skeptics ’ concerns about cannibalization . The audience for vacation rentals , they argue , differs from the business traveler staying a night or two in a city or the young single looking for adventure on a budget . With 40 % of its initial homeshare portfolio in new markets , Marriott International is considering destinations that wouldn ’ t necessarily support a hotel development .
Hotel companies will be weighing their ability to scale and potential revenue that homeshare affiliations will yield . Airbnb already set the bar low , so potential fees from renting out a single home or apartment pale versus the management or franchising fees associated with hotels .
“ For many companies , it ’ s hard to justify the economics of investing in the marketing and infrastructure to support something that represents a very small share or revenue for the foreseeable future ,” consultant Bjorn Hanson says . One way to mitigate that , he says , is to focus on the upper reaches of the market and destinations with higher daily rates .
Homeshare owners need some love , too . “ To be competitive and continue to grow the platform , marketshare and units , companies need to make their products more attractive from the top to the bottom for all constituents , both travelers and owners ,” says Michael Bellisario , vice president and analyst for Robert W . Baird & Co .
This villa on Korcula , Croatia , is part of Marriott International ’ s Homes & Villas portfolio .
ACCOR ’ S STRATEGY FOR ONEFINESTAY IS TO SCALE “ STRATEGICALLY AND SUSTAINABLY SO THAT WE MAINTAIN BRAND INTEGRITY AND CONSISTENCY ALONG THE WAY ,” SAYS CEO THOMAS GIRARD
5,000 since the acquisition : Its urban collection has properties in major U . S . and European cities exclusive to the brand , and a villa collection of resort locations is managed by local professionals .
Accor ’ s strategy for Onefinestay is to scale “ strategically and sustainably so that we maintain brand integrity and consistency along the way ,” says its CEO , Thomas Girard . Short-term , it will focus on signing more exclusive management agreements in markets where it already has a presence , such as New York , Rome , Paris and London .
“ Our core business has always appealed to single families and leisure travelers looking for private rentals , but today we ’ re also seeing a growing trend in the number of multigenerational vacations ,” he says .
September 2019 hotelsmag . com 49