Dennis Schaal, Skift
On the road toward its IPO, Airbnb has engaged in nonstop publicity about its efforts to crack down on house parties. Another less-noticed part of that effort is when Airbnb blocks these bookings of whole homes, it encourages users to book hotels instead.
2 days ago
Jane Lanhee Lee, Reuters
Airbnb has always been obsessive about its design, and it's hard to imagine a more obsessive designer than Jony Ive.
3 days ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Give Tripadvisor credit for its attempts mid-pandemic to diversify its various revenue streams at a time when Google is rising. But the latest push to get price-conscious travelers to book their entire trips on Tripadvisor will be a tough sell.
4 days ago
Seth Borko, Skift
You wouldn’t call DoorDash the world’s largest restaurant operator. So don’t make the same mistake with Airbnb — there is an important difference between distribution platforms and their suppliers.
4 days ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Tripadvisor CEO Steve Kaufer may be underestimating the threat competitors pose to its tours and activities business, a segment the company may see as its largest opportunity. But it's true that Airbnb is only going after a small slice of that market for now, and Amazon's intentions are unclear.
1 week ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
With thousands of hotels going out of business and up for sale, and vacation rentals business booming in certain destinations, there will be a ton of disruption and convergence in hospitality. Savvy short-term rental operators can pick off some direct bookings, but the mega online travel agencies will hardly notice.
3 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skit
In Skift's top travel stories this week, we covered Amazon's debut of virtual tours, Airbnb reinstating suspended listings from Domio, the prospect of hotel defaults, and JetBlue founder David Neeleman delaying the launch of his new airline.
3 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Airbnb's proposed December timing for an initial public offering could be dicey because the U.S. presidential election and its aftermath is such a wild card at this point. Still, a $3 billion funding infusion could help Airbnb pay down the high-interest private equity debt that it raised earlier this year.
3 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Airbnb banned one-night stays, but only around Halloween in the U.S. and Canada. An outright ban, as is the policy at Vrbo, would be harder for Airbnb because that would hurt its corporate travel business. Still, house parties are a problem that may keep on creating ugly headlines.
3 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
In the school of online travel hard knocks, new entrants have learned that barriers to entry can be substantial. Amazon, Google, and Airbnb should realize that the devil is in the details, and the complexities.
3 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern is waging a simplicity campaign. Turning the Expedia and Hotels.com loyalty programs into a single plan might make sense. But one thing definitely on the agenda is trimming marketing through Google, a company Kern characterized as a "shark."
4 weeks ago
Matthew Parsons, Skift
Focusing on alternative accommodations is a smart move because in uncertain times, who doesn't want options?
4 weeks ago
