Airbnb and Hotels: Growth Ambitions Could Threaten Peaceful Coexistence

Many people assume that hotel operators and short-term rental managers are fighting for the same customers. But they're not, said executives at last week's Skift Global Forum 2023. Hotels tend to attract guests with different needs than short-term rentals do, the industry leaders argued.

Yet what's true today may not be true tomorrow, based on growth ambitions from hotels and Airbnb — which point to increased competition for the same customers.

For now, it's a peaceful coexistence, said both Hilton's CEO, Christopher Nassetta, and Brian Chesky from Airbnb.

"I never felt that for Airbnb to win, hotels had to lose," Chesky said. "The evidence of that is that Airbnb had approximately 400 million guest arrivals last year. Last year, hotels had revenue and profits significantly higher than before we started... There is overlap [between hotels and Airbnb]. But there is less overlap than anyone realizes."

Attempts to professionalize the management of short-term rentals to make them more hotel-like have had mixed results, too.

"On balance, the companies with lots and lot