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Dennis Schaal, Skift
In our coronavirus coverage this week, American Airlines slashes international routes for the summer, indicating it doesn't think demand will come back any time in the short-run. Plus, Airbnb CEO apologizes to hosts in the form of a $260 million relief package. And Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel is the first high-profile travel CEO to disclose he has contracted coronavirus.
11 hours ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Airbnb initially made a pro-guest decision on refunds, but it now realizes its policy and its outreach to hosts was clumsy and unsatisfactory. Hosts still won't be pleased, but the optics and financials aren't as bad as before.
5 days ago
Jane Lanhee Lee, Reuters
Airbnb is in a tricky situation: It's facing an unprecedented downturn in travel the very year it was planning to list its shares.
1 week ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Airbnb will likely have no trouble raising money, assuming the valuation and terms are palatable to investors, but it's dubious that they will chip in a few hundred million dollars each based on the supposedly inherent advantages of Airbnb's product.
2 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Many of Airbnb's previous funding rounds were oversubscribed. But if Airbnb indeed taps new venture capital funding, it won't have trouble finding benefactors. Still, the company's valuation will be considerably lower than the prior $31 billion.
2 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
It's a decisive moment for short-term rental companies. When it comes to coronavirus-addled short-term rental cancellation and refund policies, Airbnb sided with guests while Vrbo shrugged its shoulders to soothe property managers and owners. Who has the longer memory?
2 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Airbnb's fourth quarter financials show it is 10 times larger than Tripadvisor. They also provide clarity that Booking Holdings has a long way to go to catch Airbnb in short-term rental businesses. Airbnb's growing marketing spend in 2019 likely means that Google will have a welcome new partner in coming years.
3 weeks ago
Manojna Maddipatla, Reuters
Airbnb is subject to most of the same trends that the rest of the hospitality industry is grappling with, whether it be in China, Italy, or South Korea. No big surprise here, although it's good to quantify the plunge.
3 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
An upside for cities like Berlin that tighten short-term rental supply through regulation is that they're less prone to price and occupancy shocks when something like the trade fair ITB Berlin cancels at the last minute.
4 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Restructuring in itself isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world for a company, although fired employees might not see it that way. This is at least the second recent and high-profile Airbnb investment. The other, with Oyo, doesn't appear to be proceeding according to plan, either.
4 weeks ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
It's hard to know whether greater transparency will benefit or hinder these short-term rental platforms. Might lawmakers use the information as a stick to wield over the industry?
1 month ago
Wouter Geerts, Skift
The short-term rental ecosystem is getting bigger, which means many winners are set to emerge from the pack. Expect further brand-driven professionalization, more outside investment, and vendor consolidation. Those getting on board will benefit, but is a backlash in the cards?
1 month ago
