Skift Take
The websites that have the most comprehensive set of lodging choices, whether they are hotels, vacation rentals, apartments or igloos, will dominate. Expedia, through its HomeAway acquisition and intent to develop apartment rentals in cities, knows this and is getting ready for the future of travel in lodging.
The online accommodations business will undoubtedly be transformed over the next few years and Expedia CFO Mark Okerstrom said his company should take seriously the prospect that Airbnb might enter the hotel-booking business.
"So I think it’s a threat that we look at it," Okerstrom said, referring to the possibility that Airbnb could evolve into a distribution platform for hotels. "We should take it seriously and I think that at the same time we look what Airbnb is doing and we look at that as a potentially attractive opportunity for us."
Speaking at the Credit Suisse Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in Phoenix December 1, Okerstrom said, however, that Airbnb wouldn't find entering the hotel-booking arena an easy thing to do -- especially since Airbnb would have to face comp
