Dennis Schaal, Skift
Airbnb — and other players in the short-term rental space — have a daunting task in trying to verify millions of home listings, along with an expanded array of tours and activities. With this push, it might just open up more players to liability from content offered on their platforms.
2 days ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
In a very crowded and highly competitive short-term rental field, it makes sense that Expedia Group's Vrbo would try to stand out, albeit as a travel business serving families. Why go after the backpackers and younger generation when that isn't your core customer anyway?
3 days ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
No pain, no gain, right? Expedia's Vrbo unit, which is almost an afterthought when it comes to discussions about Airbnb, Booking.com, and Google, has been undergoing a difficult transition. In itself, changing the leadership isn't the answer, but along with other changes, perhaps it won't hurt.
4 days ago
Salesforce + Skift
The use of technology in hospitality must go beyond improving consumer-facing products and digital experiences. Its true potential will be realized when hotel staff are empowered with the right insights at the right time so that they can transform guest experiences.
5 months ago
Luke McGrath, Bloomberg
It's not all bad news, though. Some smaller cities, looking to grow their local tourism market, have developed a good working relationship with the startup.
1 week ago
Andrew Sheivachman, Skift
Airbnb has avoided these policies under the guise of being just a platform, much like the rest of the tech platform companies. We just hope at some point that tragedies are not the only way to propel change that lots of stakeholders have been asking for all along.
2 weeks ago
Olivia Carville, Bloomberg
Jersey City, a large New Jersey municipality on the outskirts of New York City, where Airbnb faces stiff regulation, handed Airbnb a huge defeat by adopting sensible homesharing restrictions. Is this a trend in the making?
2 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
House parties and out-of-control guests are the scourge of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms. The industry has to fix this — fast.
2 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
When guests stay in short-term rentals, they shouldn't have to worry that hosts might be sharing their intimate photos and personal information on Facebook, whether it be in nominally private groups or not. Airbnb, Vrbo, Facebook, and others need to be more vigilant so that their hosts aren't violating privacy policies on their platforms or elsewhere.
2 weeks ago
Seth Borko and Danni Santana, Skift Research
Oyo's multi-brand strategy speaks to its ambition to expand out of the budget category it started in. For now most of these brands are concentrated in India, which serves as a test market for Oyo. It will be interesting to watch how these regional offerings fare and evolve to fit into foreign markets.
2 weeks ago
Laura Powell, Skift
As more companies enter the luxury vacation rental business, the need to serve up a unique selling proposition becomes increasingly vital. But it's also key to stay true to that original mission point, even as a company grows.
3 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
The deal gives a nice return to private equity firm Livingbridge, which bought Sykes in 2015 for about $75 million. What makes Sykes Cottages stand out is that it has fully built almost all of its technology on its own and has almost 80 percent direct bookings. New majority stakeholder Vitruvian is now placing a bet on short-term rentals.
3 weeks ago
