Articles tagged “homesharing”

Growing numbers of remote workers and soaring travel and accommodation costs represent favorable conditions for house exchange platforms to thrive in, but are people ready to trust strangers during a time when confidence is low?

Hopper is deploying an oft-used playbook for getting its homes' business started. But a cancel-for- any-reason feature, still in development, could add a twist.

Other than at exception-to-the-rule Google, metasearch has been on a downward spiral in vacation rentals for years. HomeToGo is turning itself into a series of booking sites instead, which just might work in that holiday home sector.

It's hard to be reflective when so many levers are being pulled to prepare for one of the most anticipated IPOs in recent years, but Nathan Blecharczyk shares his thoughts, from the company's scrappy beginnings to wrestling with the burdens of success to Wall Street's watchful eye.

Airbnb played the Booking.com-like performance marketing game in 2019, and got burned as losses piled up and revenue growth didn't keep pace. A centerpiece of Airbnb's roadshow is to show that its brand advantage and repeat visitor dynamics mean it doesn't have to deploy the same strategy as its peers.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said last year he could see his company going public in 2020. What he didn't see was a world turned upside down by a pandemic. If Airbnb ends up trading as a public stock in the coming months, it will be a story for the ages.

Vrbo is one of the only major short-term rental platforms with advertising opportunities. This, combined with its valuable, high-spending audience of family and group travelers, will likely make it an appealing offering to brands.

Sporting some red ink in its financial results doesn't spell doom and gloom for Airbnb's prospects of going public in 2020. On the other hand, the question for employees and investors becomes — at what valuation?

Airbnb has legions of critics, and it knows that its articulated stakeholder goals will get intense scrutiny. But if the company turns some of these corporate governance aspirations into reality, then it could emerge looking pretty good compared with many established travel industry companies offering just lip service.

Airbnb chose Tinseltown to audaciously begin cracking down on party houses. Good PR. Expect to see more adjustments in Airbnb policy as it moves forward with an emphasis on community safety and standards.