The Most Important Story in Hotels in 2019
Skift Take
The tug-of-war between hotels and short-term rentals intensified in 2019, with both sides making strategic moves to display their strength. There were wins and losses for everyone, and the result so far has been a deeper blurring of the lines between the two sectors.
The largest hotel company in the world made the bold decision to get into the homesharing business by launching Homes & Villas by Marriott International. Marriott has more than 7,000 hotels. Since launching in April, Homes & Villas has gone from having about 2,000 listings to 5,000.
That set the stage for one of the most interesting stories in hospitality this year as the lines continued to become more opaque among sectors. Traditional hotels moving into short-term rentals, and vice versa, escalated levels of competition while raising the stakes for the entire industry.
Marriott has said it's not trying to compete directly with the likes of Airbnb, HomeAway, and other short-term rental companies. It can’t if you think of it in terms of sheer scale. Airbnb, for
