Skift Research Excerpt

Airbnb is moving away from Google and performance advertising but few others seem to be following in its footsteps. We believe most online booking sites will remain reliant on Google for top of the funnel marketing post-pandemic. This sets up the search engine to retain its dominant position in travel.

Short-term rentals outshone hotels during the pandemic years in the U.S. accommodation sector. However, the boundaries between hotels and so-called STRs are blurring and it is still to be seen how the two segments will compete to define the market landscape.

As the short-term rental market grows rapidly in Asia-Pacific, all of the stakeholders involved will grow along with it. The sector is expected to remain fragmented for now, but in the coming few years as the market matures and its demand-supply equilibrium gets defined, market leaders will emerge.

The pandemic has been both a blessing and a curse for destination marketing with restricted budgets, a broadened scope of work, and a breather to rethink and restructure. This year will be pivotal for laying the groundwork to evolve nimbly in line with travel trends and to enhance organizational efficiencies.

People in the West traditionally have used mobile phones as a research tool and a desktop for transactions whereas in the East, since people mostly skipped the offline era, users began directly in the digital age through mobile. Companies looking to boost mobile commerce need to create unique touchpoints and tailor their product offerings to achieve a greater sales mix.

Hotels need to be where the consumers are. Offering digital and alternative payment options is key to benefitting from current trends, and this means working with fintech players that are able to offer these services by integrating into hotel tech systems.

The online travel market in Southeast Asia is a promising market, a rapidly growing region with a digitally engaged and highly aspirational middle class that is currently underserved. The industry dynamics are ever-evolving with OTAs endeavoring to do things differently in order to maintain and grow their slice of the market.

The emission rate for tourism-related activities will not slow down by default. The implications of carbon emissions are apparent and concerted action is required from all stakeholders to reduce the carbon footprint of tourism at a faster pace.

Travel companies slashed marketing budgets last year as travel in the majority of the world faced an unknown future. Now that the recovery has begun, they need to double down on marketing investment to drive recovery and growth.

Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are increasingly reliant on professional property managers to provide quality inventory. This considerably closes the gaps of service standards and reliability between the rental and hotel industries, which brings key opportunities for rental operators.