Hilton CEO Looks to Airbnb as Hedge Against Power of Expedia and Booking.com

Most major hotel company CEOs are still insistent that their direct booking pushes are working, but they're candid about also maintaining ties with major online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com. Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta, when asked about the looming threat of Airbnb and short-term rentals recently, said he actually thinks Airbnb appears to be becoming more like an online travel agency (OTA) and that's actually a "good thing" for hotels because it forces the other companies like Expedia and Booking.com to be more competitive. "Competition is a good thing," Nassetta said during Hilton's second quarter earnings call last month. "And there being more competition in the home-sharing business and more – by the way, you know my fundamental belief, is it's just a different travel occasion, trip occasion. We are not directly competitive with what they're doing. So, more competition, I think is good there. "More competition – them morphing in whatever ways to feeling more like an OTA is a good – whether they do that or not, I don't know, not for me to say. But the more competition there is in any space, the better off we are, I think, because more competition in theory would help have the impact of driving pricing down and distribution costs down. So, I view that as a long game. Lots is going to go on over the next two years, five years, 10 years, 20 years. But as the competitive environment heats up, I think, the net result is good." We're already seeing some signs of that transforma