Airbnb Loses Three Quarters of its New York City Listings

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, September 14. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Airbnb’s New York City listings for short-term stays dropped 77% over a three-month period during which the city enacted stringent host registration rules. A major New York City hotel operator believes that decrease will contribute to a significant tailwind for hotels next year, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. 

An New York City-based hotel executive, who declined to be identified, said Airbnb’s struggles could give his company a boost. The hotelier noted that revenue per available room for city hotels was already projected to jump roughly 10% in 2024 from pre-Covid levels. He added the figure could rise at least three percentage points given the clampdown on Airbnb listings. 

However, Schaal writes not everyone in the hotel industry agrees. Some hotel owners have argued that Airbnb’s inventory numbers are too low to significantly impact hotels in New York City. 

Next, Morocco was hit by a massive earthquake last week that caused nearly 3,000 deaths. Yet several tour operators are organizing trips in the country, writes Travel Experiences Selene Brophy.

Although some tour operators decided to cancel or suspend operations following the deadly earthquake, Intrepid Travel and G Adventures have chosen to reroute trips away from areas most heavily affected. In addition, Journey Morocco, which provides multi-day tours around the country, confirmed it would be operating all of its trips. However, the company’s founder Redouane Ouadi said some tours to impacted areas would be modified. 

Finally, JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes said it’s selling flights it can’t fly due to the ongoing air traffic control shortage, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.

Hayes said at an aviation conference that Washington hasn’t done enough to ease the operational limits from lower staffing levels. He urged the government to grant airlines waivers to flight rules at busy New York City-area airports well in advance. Russell writes airlines would be better able to plan schedules maximizing the number of seats to New York with fewer flights.  

Russell adds the waiver is needed because airlines are required to use their slots and runway timings 80% of the time or risk losing them. United CEO Scott Kirby said the air traffic control shortage could cause hundreds of flight delays that wouldn’t have occurred in the past.